Pokemon, Day of the Delta
by GalaxianDragon
Summary: Shortly after becoming champion of Hoenn, Brendan Kobushi is tossed into another dangerous quest. Along with Erica Tamashii, he will fight against the remnants of Team Magma and Team Aqua while pursuing the enigmatic Zinnia. But there is only so much time to save his home from the looming threat above Hoenn. Direct sequel to Oras Journey.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Despite my love for Gundam, I have had no influence over Perfect Zygarde. Or did I?...Nah, I really haven't. Also, big thanks to LackadaisicalLeopah for letting me use their picture for an image.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

Three days earlier...April 28th

"Hmm, so that plan fell through, huh?"

Hoenn was home to many spectacles that could defy the expectations of the foreign. One such was a tower that was hardly ever noticed but peaked above clouds. On said tower was a teenage girl wearing a Magma grunt uniform.

Though her affiliation with that group could be called into question by the Whismur that stood beside her.

"Well, guess I won't be needing this anymore." Sighed the girl before discarding the uniform.

Her attire under the uniform consisted of khaki short shorts and a black shirt with red highlights. She walked over to the edge of the platform to don her cape and her spiral leg bracelet with a keystone attached to it. As she did, the Whismur followed her around.

The little sound pokemon showed a face of confusion and sadness.

"Yeah, I guess we'll just have to move on to plan B. But, don't worry Aster; Mommy has everything under control."

With her new outfit adorned, the girl returned to the center of the platform. And her attention was directed towards the sky above.

"It's coming. We've only got so many days now." Stated the girl. "I swear that I won't fail."

Present Time...May 1st

Everything from above the skies above was certainly easier to see. Though if you were looking for a certain something, it wouldn't be as immediately helpful. Such was the case for the blonde champion of Kalos.

'Come on Latias, can't you sense anything?' Asked Erica.

'No. I don't know why, but I can't trace anything properly.' Answered the red dragon.

"Well, come on! Are you sure that there is nothing there!?" Yelled Erica impatiently.

'Please, you need to calm down!' Retorted Latias quickly with a frustrated tone.

Erica doubled her head back after being told that, but she did calm down afterwards. It wasn't usual that the meek legendary would raise her pitch so suddenly.

'I'm sorry, its just-'

'I know. After all, nii-san is missing too.' Said Latias as she tried to sympathize with her trainer. 'Let's land down there, I need to rest for a bit.'

An accepting nod was what she received and the dragon took down to the city below. They landed in Slateport city and Latias was returned to her pokeball so as to not arouse the masses.

The blonde champion walked over to the ocean edge of the city and sat down, lamenting on the previous events that had transpired.

After being knocked out by that mysterious girl, a defeat that Erica didn't take lightly, she was found by Norman in the following hours. The obvious reflexes of the man was to ask what happened and where his son was.

Unexpectedly though, Erica told him that Brendan had left to do some personal training. She made up the lie that he was determined to beat his former teacher now, and a trip knocked her out.

"I'm so lucky that he bought into it." Whispered the girl to herself.

There were two reasons that she lied about that. If other people knew that Hoenn's champion was missing, there'd be panic. That would impede her search too much.

And she felt like she was the only one who deserved to be hurt at the moment.

"Brendan, where are you?" Her eyes trailed out to the ocean hoping for an answer.

Unknown Location...

"...Ugh...what?..."

Brendan started to come back to consciousness slowly. His senses needed a few seconds to take in everything around him. The chilling air blowing past him, the grass below him, and the close sounds of breaking ocean waves.

Finally, his sight returned and he could get an idea of where he was.

The place that he was situated on was but a small island with very few things that stood out about it, excluding the ominous fog that surrounded it.

'What is this place?' Thought the brunette before another thought ran into his mind. He quickly stood up and surveyed the area.

"Erica-chan?"

Brendan started to run around in search of his girlfriend hoping that she was somewhere close by. However, any hope of that being true was quickly dashed away when he remembered what had happened before.

Pain started to flare in his abdomen as he recalled the blows that he took the night prior. Obeying his body's impulses, he held onto the area with his hands and landed on a knee.

Now fully aware that Erica was nowhere to be seen, Brendan's attention returned to where he was.

"Oh, you're finally up."

Brendan's head perked up as he quickly turned around to see just who was talking to him. To his surprise, it was his assailant from the previous night.

"You!" He tried to get up and attack her, but his injuries held him back down.

"Woah there. Calm down a little." Taunted the girl as she waltzed over to him. "My name is Zinnia. Nice to meet you."

Her friendly introduction was quickly sent back by an angry glare. Despite the fact that the champion was trying to kill her with his eyes, she still remained calm and upbeat.

"Hey come on now, you won't figure anything out with that kind of look."

That was true. She was the only one who understood the situation, and the only person on this island other than Brendan. If he wanted answers, then this girl was the person to ask. Swallowing his pride and extinguishing his anger wasn't going to be easy though.

"Ok fine, where are we?" Asked Brendan, facing away as he did.

"Well, we're on my Mirage Island." Explained Zinnia as she hopped onto the ground in front of Brendan.

Once she was plopped onto the ground, an idea brightened up in the champion's head. As far as he could tell Zinnia had no pokemon on her.

'If I can get her to lower her guard, then maybe...'

Her physical strength was staggering, but Brendan was confident in his own level of power (despite his pain). As much as he hated this girl right now, he would have to humor her to get her to lower her guard.

"So...your hair is pretty." Lied the boy.

"Oh, you think so? Well, thank you." It appeared that Zinnia wasn't one to turn down a complement.

Although it left a guilty feeling in his stomach, aside from the pain that he already felt, Brendan decided to pile on with this. In the back of his mind, he prayed that Erica wouldn't be anywhere nearby.

"Yeah, and your cape is really cool too." He found it in himself to muster up some false fascination in his eyes.

Progress for this didn't seem to go anywhere for him as Zinnia's expression remained playful after the second compliment.

Though in fairness, complimenting a girl's cape after admiring her hair wasn't going to work that well.

There was only one more route that Brendan could go down, and it was at this moment that he really didn't want Erica to appear on the scene. Otherwise, he'd be dead.

"Anything else about me that you find attractive?" Asked the red-eyed girl.

Gray eyes were squinting as the boy struggled to come up with another answer. He couldn't produce one in fear that his girlfriend would find out about it.

"Well, I guess you can only try so much. I don't think we'd work too well together anyway."

Zinnia's explanation drove her to spin a little and close her eyes. Clearly she was dropping her guard for some pride. Exactly what Brendan was hoping for.

'Now's my chance!'

Brendan seized upon this opportunity by leaping up and ignoring any amount of pain that his body could possibly have. He tackled Zinnia into the ground, and even seemed successful doing so.

That was until Zinnia managed to flip him over and reverse the whole situation. All that resilience to pain quickly dissipated from the brunette as he impacted against the ground.

"Well now, looks like you're not that smart." Joked the red-eyed girl.

Adding insult to injury, the little Whismur from before waddled close to Brendan's head and started slapping him.

"Now now Aster, we don't want to hurt him any further. I've already got him down." Said Zinnia with an even more playful tone.

Being mocked was one thing, losing to a random girl was also bad, but losing in a competition of strength was infuriating for Brendan. All that flirtation and effort down the drain.

"Why didn't that work?" Asked the protagonist as she struggled under Zinnia.

"Come on, I know that you've got a girlfriend." Stated the dark-skinned girl.

"Fine, but what are you going to do with me? I don't have too much money if that's what you're after."

Much to Brendan's expectations, Zinnia laughed heartedly. But she surprised him by letting go of him and putting her cape back on. The little Whismur followed subtly after her.

"You seriously don't remember me?" Asked the girl, dropping her playful demeanor.

"No, I don't." Answered Brendan bluntly and impatiently.

That blunt response was followed by Zinnia sighing as if her victim was also her student. This only seemed to frustrate Brendan even more.

"We met back in the Team Magma base." Proclaimed the girl.

Brendan didn't immediately understand what she was talking about, but he soon remembered that a girl with red eyes wearing a grunt uniform knocked him out back then. It had slipped his mind due to the abrupt nature of the event.

"That was you?" She nodded happily in response.

Sweat dripped off of the brunette's face as he realized that this was the second time that she had knocked him out and relocated him.

Even though he now knew that he had met this girl prior, it didn't fully explain the assault yesterday.

"Then why did you kidnap me?" Questioned Brendan, hoping for an answer.

"Isn't it obvious? You can't fool me." That statement only succeeded in confusing her captive even further. "You're a member of Team Magma, and I'm keeping you here while your buddies are out causing trouble."

If gawking in surprise was the initial response to recalling the first meeting, then being told that caused the boy's brain to implode.

"What are you talking about? I fought against Team Magma and Team Aqua, my pokemon and I stopped Groudon from destroying everything!" Yelled the brunette in confused frustration.

Anger surged through him and Brendan tried to get back up. Obviously, his injuries hindered him from doing so.

Instead of having to stress his body any further, Brendan tried to pull himself over to his captor. She responded only by glaring back him with piercing red eyes.

"I understand if those guys sent you to deal with their problems and if they tried to repent. But Magma and Aqua are causing trouble again." Zinnia then turned her back to Brendan and started to leave. "And I'm going to stop them both."

The enigmatic girl and her pokemon then vanished into the mist, leaving their captive alone on Mirage Island.

The gears of this story were turning in a manner that was against the protagonists. Yet, in spite their already trying predicaments, Brendan and Erica had a bigger threat on the horizon.

In Mossdeep City Space Center...

Professor Cozmo frantically rushed around the observatory, displaying irritancy and frustration. His colleagues clearly expressed worry and confusion.

"Sir, the meteor has changed its trajectory. It is on a collision course with the planet!"

"What? Recheck that, update the trajectory calculations!"

Fingers flew across the keyboards, and many bits of information appeared up on the large screen upfront.

"Trajectory confirmed, its going to impact at...Mt. Pyre!"

Everyone in the room gawked in sheer horror and disbelief. That meteor was only supposed to slingshot past Earth, but now it had changed its trajectory to impact Hoenn. It was almost as if it was alive.

Professor Cozmo's gaze narrowed as he realized what this meant. 'So...it has come to this...'

Outside of Earth's orbit, a plethora of meteors were on there way, being pulled by the planet's gravity. The majority were destined to burn up in the atmosphere or outright miss.

But one was larger than others, much larger. While it immediately followed in the path of the other meteors, it began to move on its own towards the planet...

 **23 hours, 37 minutes, and 32 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading his chapter; I hope you liked it. Please favorite or leave a review. I think that I'll take the time right now to say that Zinnia is my favorite Pokémon character behind N. So I've really been looking forward to writing this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon franchise. If I did, there would be other people writing these disclaimers for me.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

Wally had to admit that the average calm life around Petalburg City was a good and alleviating feeling after so much training with pokemon. Ever since that battle against Brendan, he had found it best to take some time to rest at home.

"Ok, I'm going to go get the groceries." Said the boy as he left the house.

Upon leaving the house, Wally felt uneasy. The instincts that he had earned on his journey warned him that he was being watched. He swerved back to the entrance of his house. However, nobody was there.

'Am I just imagining things?' That thought acted to dismiss his instinct as superstition.

Until he turned around and saw a dark-skinned girl standing in front of him. Instantly, Wally flinched and fell down to the ground.

"Hiya, whatcha doing?" Asked the girl playfully as she looked down to him.

"Hi…I'm off to get groceries…" Said Wally cautiously as he got back up.

"Neat. Say, that's an interesting gem that you got there." Noted the girl as she pointed to the keystone. "Where did you get it from?"

A sense of caution and defense spread through the green-haired boy. The keystone was almost invaluable; a conclusion he came to after battling Brendan.

This girl's quirky behavior and abrupt interest in the keystone obviously left her without much trust.

But he chose to play friendly for now.

"Yes it is. I found it around here." Lied the boy.

"Really? Because I thought that those were few and far between." Argued the girl without discarding her playful demeanor.

Wally began to sweat as he realized that she was versed in this subject. Looks like the charade was up, but he hoped to salvage it and fool her.

"Nope, I really just bought it at a nearby store." The meek boy continued to play his lie.

The enigmatic girl came closer to her target of interrogation. Sweat began to drip from Wally's face as she got closer. Not that he felt anything related to romance about this girl.

"Funny. I didn't know that you could just find things at stores and take them."

Her logic succeeded in piercing through any amount of lies that Wally could put up. He jumped back and prepared to reach out for Gallade's pokeball.

But his opponent was one step ahead, she darted forward and swiped his legs with her own. Loss of his balance forced Wally to collapse onto the ground. While he was falling, the girl quickly grabbed the mega pendant around his neck.

She casually tossed the decorative holder back down to him after retrieving the keystone within.

"Don't worry, all I really need is the keystone. You'd probably be less cool without that." Mocked the girl.

Wally's patience was wearing thin, evident by his face and his choice to immediately send out Altaria.

"Dragon? Not a good choice against me." She spun around and released an Altaria herself. But this one was bigger than Wally's.

"Dragon pulse!"

"Cotton guard."

Wally's cloud dragon immediately shot out at the girl's cloud dragon who expanded its defenses in return. The impact of dragon pulse was weakened by the effect of cotton guard.

"Now use moonblast." Commanded the girl calmly.

The bigger Altaria unleashed a pink orb of fairy energy that blew the other Altaria away instantly.

There wasn't much else the boy could do but flinch in surprise. He had absolutely no idea that Altaria could learn a fairy type move, but he tried to quickly regain his composure.

"Quick Altaria, use dragon pulse again!"

An expression of pure irritation and blind anger erupted on Altaria's face as it got back up, which was something that it shared with Wally.

"Altaria, you use dragon pulse too."

Both cloud dragons fired the draconic beams unto each other, but only the bigger Altaria's actually succeeded in making progress at all. The weaker imploded, and left the smaller dragon open for a finishing blow.

Every thought in his mind told Wally to summon another pokemon to continue the battle, but all he could do was stare in shock.

"Listen, if you couldn't beat us with a dragon type, you've got nothing." Proclaimed the red-eyed girl. "Remember my name, it's Zinnia."

Without much more thought, Wally turned around to see if he could find the girl. However, she and her pokemon had vanished without a trace.

Devon Corp. Building...

"Yes...I know but...that is a pressing matter...we don't even know if it'll work or not."

President Stone knew that being the head of a huge corporation responsible for technological breakthroughs wasn't without pressing matters. But the acute argument that he was having right now was something he wish that he could've avoided.

"Professor Cozmo, need I remind you that our technology can have serious repercussions despite our reputation?"

On the other end of the line, the professor argued more about the scarcity of alternatives. This resulted in Mr. Stone pinching his nose in utter frustration.

"Fine...I understand...but keep in mind that we're not even sure it will work." Finished the president before hanging up.

The elderly man had to pull out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off of his face. Although Devon Corp. was responsible for so many great technological breakthroughs, it was scary to take a leap sometimes.

"Sounds like you've got a problem to work on father." Noted Steven as he walked into the office.

"Problem doesn't even begin to explain it." Began Mr. Stone. "Steven, as an employee of Devon, you have a new job to attend to."

The ears of the former champion perked up; he could detect a great degree of seriousness in his father's tone.

"What is it, sir?" Asked Steven. He reciprocated the tone of his father.

"You need to find Brendan and Erica. When you do, return to my office pronto." Ordered Mr. Stone.

A silver eyebrow was perked on Steven's face; not that he held any resentment towards his successor in the least, but because he didn't expect that as a request.

Unless this unscheduled meeting had to do with paying the debt of saving the world, it would remain enigmatic to the silver-haired geologist. However, that enigma made the task somewhat interesting.

"Yessir, I will find them at once." Stated Steven before exiting.

Once his son was gone, Mr. Stone looked back out at the blue sky above. He dreaded how it was guaranteed that there was a precursor of destruction coming from that calm blue setting.

Despite the impeding celestial body beyond the sky, one could enjoy themselves as long as they didn't know; proof that ignorance is tantamount to bliss.

Such was the case with May Birch. She was currently playing around with the ideas of what pokemon she should sketch next.

'I've already done all the pokemon that I have.' Thought the brunette girl. 'A cute little one that is rare would be nice.'

Opportunity then knocked upon her door. To be exact, it was her window panel. Outside of the window was a little pink Whismur which kept knocking to get her attention.

"Kawaii!" May's blushing cheeks and smile were obvious signs that it worked.

The brunette girl quickly walked over to her window, and she opened it to get a better look at the Whismur.

"Ah, where did you come from, little cutie?" Asked the girl to which the tiny pokemon responded with its own language that obviously consisted of whispers.

"Oh who cares? You're so cute! Hold still for a second." Her request was met as it didn't make an effort to leave.

Having her model and inspiration, May got her sketchpad and quickly started to make a new sketch. Her model didn't need to stay still for too long because of her impressive art skills.

"And...done. What do you think?" She flipped the pad around to display her artwork to the Whismur.

A happy whisper and jump were clear signs that indicated how much it liked the portrait.

Receiving that round of applause was enough to get May to start on another picture immediately. While in the process of mimicking the pokemon upon paper, it disappeared from her sight.

"Huh? Where did you go?" Asked the confused and disappointed girl.

In an effort to find wherever it was, she peered her head out the window for a better range of inspection.

Suddenly, May was knocked down as a girl flew in through the window. May was the flipped in a suplex fashion and was slammed unto the floor.

"I..ta..." Groaned the girl softly.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Apologized the assaulter in a taunting manner. "After the last guy tried to battle me I thought that a different approach was called for."

With the petite girl on the ground, her mega bracelet on the desk was ripe for the taking. The assailant girl proceeded to take the bracelet and remove the keystone with a pop.

'Now I have two; we're getting closer Aster...' Thought the girl before tucking the rainbow stone away.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the staircase alerted the girl to somebody coming to the room. That would act as a good cue to exit the scene.

As she proceeded to leave, the sight of the sketch caught her attention.

"Ni-ice picture. I really like how you captured Aster's cuteness." Her compliment wasn't met with graciousness.

Quickly, she left the room outside of the window. No sooner than that did Mrs. Birch entered the room to see her daughter sprawled onto the floor.

Meanwhile on Mirage Island, Brendan was busy with all of his pokemon searching to find a way off of the island. As one could imagine, that wouldn't be so easy to accomplish.

"Damn, just what is this place?" Asked the protagonist in frustration.

Though it was clear that the island was situated on water, it was also surrounded by a dense fog. That coupled with freezing waters would make it very difficult to traverse through the ocean.

The logical solution was to simply surf across the water and get back into Hoenn, but Brendan and Aqua already attempted that and ended up back in the same spot.

"Looks like Zinnia did a good job making sure that I wouldn't be able to leave." Noted the brunette.

'Yes she did, but I can't help but think that she looks familiar.' Stated Latios; adding confusion to his trainer.

"You've seen her somewhere before?" Asked Brendan as he turned around to face his dragon.

Placing his claw upon his chin, the blue dragon searched his mind for whatever clues he could use to answer this predicament. No solid answer immediately came about.

'Sorry Brendan. She just looks familiar to me.' Apologized Latios.

"Well, you have been in Hoenn for a long time. I'm sure that you've seen a lot of different people." Noted the brunette before returning to finding a way back.

Although he knew that Zinnia wasn't exactly their friend, Latios knew just couldn't shake the fact that she seemed familiar.

While Brendan and his pokemon were occupied, Erica and Latias were still searching for them. They had covered much of Hoenn by then, and they were in need of a break. Landing in Dewford town, Erica dismounted from Latias so the red dragon could rest.

'I just don't understand. Nii-san and I know all the places in Hoenn. Why can't we find them?' Asked Latias sadly.

"I'm not sure. At this point we could consider them to not even be in Hoenn at all." Suggested Erica.

Though it was probably true, it wasn't easy to accept at all. Merely the thought of her boyfriend being sent around the world after being kidnapped was saddening to Erica. It was also frustrating as it be so hard to find even a trace of them.

Her frustration was made evident by her angry grunts and flailing arms.

The process of such caused her bag to fall of and poke a few items out.

'Please, calm down Erica.' Requested Latias to which her trainer complied. She understood that they couldn't really afford any anger right now.

"You're right again, sorry." Apologized the blonde before reaching down to pick up her bag.

As she did so, Latias couldn't avoid looking at some of the items and noticed the Eon Flute. Immediately upon seeing it, she jumped (as best as one could without legs) towards it.

"What are you doing!?" Asked Erica in pure surprise.

'The Eon Flute! You've had this!?' Exclaimed the red dragon; causing her trainer to shrink a little.

"Uh, yeah. Steven gave it to me after we sealed away Kyogre and Groudon." Explained Erica.

Latias's face then became a contorted mix of stupidity and joy. Though her trainer could only express signs of confusion at this.

'You need to play it.' Demanded Latias.

"What? Why?"

'Nii-san and I can hear the flute's noise from anywhere. I'm sure that he'll come if you play it.'

Erica was smart enough to put the pieces together from there. If Latios would hear the music and Brendan was with him, then they would certainly be easier to find. More than that, they might even come to the girls.

Understanding the advantages, she took the eon flute from Latias and started blowing wind into it.

Despite that Erica didn't know what song to play, or even how to remotely play a flute at all, the instrument began to emit a unique melody that was easy to hear.

Back on the island, Latios perked up and started to scan the entire area. This odd behavior didn't go unnoticed by Brendan.

"What's gotten into you?"

'That sound...quick Brendan! Get everybody else and hurry!'

Though the sudden burst wasn't appreciated, it wasn't met with denial either. The brunette wanted to get off of this island as soon as possible.

"Ok fine, just give me a sec." He pulled out the empty pokeballs and retrieved all of his pokemon except for Latios.

Before he could do anything else at all, Brendan was suddenly forced onto Latios by the dragon. Latios made haste by flying up through the fog at a great speed.

The fog wasn't only thick, it was accompanied by so much cold air. Brendan felt like his entire body was freezing, but he still chose to trust whatever decision Latios was making.

'I don't understand Latios, what makes you think that this the way out?'

'Because I can hear the song of the Eon Flute in this direction.'

Brendan found it hard to accept that simply hearing a flute would lead them off of the island. His doubt was disproven as he and Latios suddenly burst out of the fog and into Hoenn's skies.

Bafflement was all over Brendan as he realized that they were in Hoenn all along. He didn't hold on to that reaction for much longer as Latios began to fly westward.

In virtually no time at all, they were close to Dewford town. Brendan suddenly remembered that Erica had the flute and that she must've played it.

'Where is she?' Thought the brunette as he swerved his head around.

"Brendan-kun!"

Following the sound, he looked downward and was able to catch a glimpse of his blonde girlfriend. He was so ecstatic to see her again that he fell off of Latios when getting close to the shore.

"Erica-chan!" He ran up and hugged her; he was grateful to be back with her.

"I was so worried that I would never get to see you again." Whispered the girl.

"Me too, but now we're together again." Reassured Brendan. "And I promise that I won't let myself get beaten like that again."

Erica started to laugh after hearing that. Despite that it was only a few hours, their separation felt like weeks to her. But none of that mattered to her. All she wanted to do was to stay with Brendan.

 **20 hours, 13 minutes, and 15 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter; I hope you liked it. Apologies that it took a little longer than expected to get it out, but the next one should be out sooner. Please leave a review, favorite, or follow this story if you really enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Pokémon, which I don't, then Hoopa would be distributed at gamestop in America.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

The reunion between the heroes was truly something heartwarming. Their separation was temporary, but it was perceived as eternity.

While he was more happy to be reunited with Erica, Brendan couldn't overlook his curiosity at the moment. Erica just somehow got him to come to her when neither of them knew where he was. After managing to pull himself away from his girlfriend, he decided  
to bring the topic up.

"How did you get us to come to you?" Asked the brunette.

"Latias just told me to play the Eon Flute." Answered Erica as she pulled out the instrument.

Looking at the instrument only managed to raise more questions in Brendan's head and for good reason. Who could possibly craft something that could just summon legendary pokemon like that?

"Looks like Steven helped us out again." Said Brendan as he ignored the questions.

"We'll have to pay him back one of these days." Noted Erica. She proceeded to return the Eon Flute to her bag.

And while she was grateful to be reunited with Brendan, she had a few questions of her own.

"Who was that girl that kidnapped you?" Asked the blonde after donning a face demanding revenge. "Did she give you her name?"

That expression wasn't meant to be taken lightly, but Brendan also knew not to fuel the fire too much.

"She said her name was Zinnia. For some reason, she thinks that I'm part of Team Magma." Explained the boy calmly.

"What? Why would she possibly think that?" Erica's angered eyes where now filled with question and disbelief.

"She saw me back in the Magma base when I went undercover. I told her that I wasn't and that my pokemon and I were the ones who defeated Groudon."

While this case of mistaken identity explained the events of the night prior, it also raised another point about this girl. Judging by her choice of target it became obvious that she was targeting Team Magma. By extension, she might've been targeting  
Team Aqua as well.

Presumably, Zinnia might be acting as a vigilante to punish them for awakening Groudon and Kyogre.

"You think that it is likely that she is trying to get them for nearly destroying the world?" Questioned Erica. She valued the opinion of her companion.

"Well, she said that they were causing trouble again. So that is probably why." Answered Brendan.

Erica groaned in response to learning that; it felt like trouble kept finding her and her friends. Not even a week after and there were new problems to fix concerning radical groups.

"Why do we keep running into trouble?" Asked the blonde as she rubbed her head in exhaustion.

Brendan couldn't help but chuckle a little bit after that. He ignored the obvious issue to deal with.

"It looks more like we keep trying to find trouble." Noted the brunette.

The irritation on the girl's face had relaxed into happiness. Being around her boyfriend truly did make her feel better.

Latias and Latios were also happy to be back together evident by them nuzzling each other (in a family fashion). Not that he wasn't glad to be reunited with his only family, but the blue dragon had some issues on his mind (seemed to be a running theme  
with this group).

'Nii-san, what's wrong?' Asked the red dragon with her innocent eyes.

'The girl that kidnapped us, I think I've seen her somewhere before. But I can't remember from where.' Explained Latios.

His explanation was met with some laughter and a light punch to the side from Latias. An action that broke her character, but not the fourth wall.

'Come on Nii-san. How could you have met her? We rarely ever leave our island.'

'I know. But something about her appearance seems familiar. I didn't get a good look at her face, but it was enough.'

Latias's sense of humor was evaporated by hints of fear and curiosity. She knew that her brother wasn't one to lie or pull pranks leaving much to be wondered.

But before the red dragon could speculate any further, she could hear her trainer calling to her.

"Latias, why don't you get some rest?" Insisted Erica. "You must be tired after flying all day."

While she wanted to pry into the question of Zinnia's identity further, Latias couldn't deny that she was tired. Besides, being with her brother again allowed her to talk to him again anytime.

'Ok, thanks Erica.' Said the dragon before being returned to the pokeball.

"You should get some rest as well Latios." Noted Brendan as he pulled out a pokeball.

'Alright Brendan, but keep your head up.' Joked the dragon as he referenced the events of the night prior.

The brunette had to laugh after that comment before retrieving his partner.

Almost on the cue of the dragons' dismissal, a weak light started to emanate from Erica's bag. Obviously, this didn't go unnoticed by the blonde as she opened her bag to find the meteorite to be weakly glowing.

"Isn't that the meteorite from Mt. Chimney?" Asked Brendan.

"Yeah, but why is it glowing here?" Pondered Erica outloud.

Then she remembered the room in Granite Cave that had the mural depictions of Groudon and Kyogre. It didn't seem like much of a coincidence to her that the rock would react oddly near that room.

"Come on Brendan-kun, I think that I know why this is glowing." Instructed the blonde.

Brendan just shrugged his shoulders, and followed after his girlfriend into the nearby cave.

Shortly after entering, Erica took the route that towards the room that she had met Steven in before. Just like last time, in the room were the murals of the ancient battle plastered upon the wall.

But, unexpected to both the protagonists, Zinnia was also there. She was accompanied by the same little Whismur, and both were looking at the wall.

"You!" Yelled Erica furiously garnering the attention of the red-eyed girl. As she turned around, revealing a book that she held, a shock of surprise came.

"What? How'd you get off of Mirage Island?" Asked Zinnia towards Brendan.

"You can't break the bond between us that easily." Answered the brunette calmly.

While the answer was to Erica's liking, she was more concerned with killing Zinnia at the moment.

"Why don't you just stand still so I can beat the ever living crap out of you?" Threatened the blonde. "It's the least that I could do to repay you for kidnapping my boyfriend."

"Sorry for separating you two, but I had to imprison him somehow. That's what you deserve for your past crimes."

Brendan became irritated after being told that. This was the second time that she had made that mistake, and it was getting to him. This emotional response was evident by him grabbing the sides of his head.

"Oh come on, I'm not with Team Magma! And, I never was!" Proclaimed the frustrated teen.

"Denial is a good way to cope with your trauma of damning the world." Retorted Zinnia.

This argument didn't seem to make any progress for the protagonists. But Erica managed to follow her former teacher's analytic style.

Reaching behind Brendan, she pulled off one of his pokeballs and released Aqua.

"See this? His name is Aqua, and he is a water type." Said the blonde. "And he is Brendan-kun's starter pokemon."

Retaining her close-minded and patronizing beliefs, Zinnia took a closer look at the Swampert. Erica's claim suddenly gained some validity as both Aqua and Brendan did share some features in their expressions.

That seemed to confirm that the two had known each other for a while. If Brendan did indeed have a water-type pokemon, then he couldn't have been a part of Team Magma.

Her face started to show fear and she started to shrink away. This action came much to the surprise of Brendan and Erica.

"You mean...you were trying to stop them?" Asked Zinnia with a shiver of fear in her voice.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Answered Brendan who was still somewhat frustrated.

The brunette girl then bowed down, an action that continued the string of surprises. Aster added humor to the surprise by bowing down as well.

"I'm sorry. I was mistaken." Apologized the girl.

Even though this act of repentance was certainly unexpected and delightful, Erica still wanted to release her frustration in the form of physical violence against this girl.

Dismissing her logical and calm behavior, she quickly approached Zinnia and prepared to hit her. But a Noivern swooped down in front of her defensively.

"Noivern, you don't need to protect me." Said the Zinnia depressingly.

But the wyvern didn't show any signs of leaving its defensive position. Erica was surprised by the unusual size of the Noivern, and that there was even one in Hoenn.

After all, Noivern were Kalos pokemon. Even in their home region, they were scarce.

Something else that caught Erica's attention was how quickly Zinnia pokemon came to defend her. It was something that she could only describe as an affectionate action.

"Your pokemon care a lot about you, don't they?" Asked Erica. She began to relent from her previous state of anger.

The initial reaction from Zinnia was a small amount of surprise, but she cast a smile and nodded.

"Yes, and I really love them too." Answered the girl happily. She reached over and petted her Noivern who responded happily.

That relationship didn't go unnoticed by Brendan either. He too understood how important his pokemon were to him. He then approached his girlfriend and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I think we can safely say that she isn't a bad person." Said the brunette.

A sigh escaped from Erica's lips and she calmed down after getting another's opinion. But all that pent up anger had to go somewhere.

"I can see that you're still angry. Do you wanna battle?" Asked Zinnia.

Denial was Erica's first choice as she didn't want to simply use her pokemon to release her frustration. Considering that they hadn't had a good battle since Kyogre, the exercise might be appreciated.

"Alright then, I think my pokemon would like some more time outside of the pokeballs." Admitted the blonde before releasing Tetsa.

"Yes! Are you ready Noivern?" Asked Zinnia. Her wyvern crouched down as a sign that it was ready to fight. "Then attack with shadow ball."

Flapping its wings, the dragon-flying type got off of the ground and launched the ghostly attack that exploded upon Tetsa. But the dense hide of the Aggron took the blow without any signs of damage.

"Tetsa, use rock slide!" Said Erica.

The iron dinosaur slammed its fist down and caused a few stalagmites to fall down and hit Noivern. Matching a flying type to a rock type proved to be a bad choice for Zinnia as her Noivern took massive damage.

"Oh no, use air slash!" Ordered the brunette girl in a panic.

"Take down!" Ordered Erica as Noivern attacked.

Just as the previous attack had failed, air slash practically bounced right off of Tetsa before she rammed right into Noivern. The dragon type didn't stay conscious after that blow.

"Oops, sorry Noivern." Apologized Zinnia as she retrieved her partner.

"She may be a good martial artist, but she doesn't look so hot when it comes to pokemon battles." Noted Brendan to which Aqua nodded.

Erica chose to retrieve Tetsa as well. It was probably appropriate to give her opponent a chance against a less dense pokemon.

"Come on out, Raishin!" Said the girl as she released her Manetric. In turn, Zinnia released a Tyrantrum to the battle.

'Again with a pokemon that is native to Kalos.' Thought the foreign champion when she saw this fossil pokemon. 'Even if it is a fossil pokemon, that is still from Kalos.'

"Attack with crunch!"

"Dodge!"

Tyrantrum charged in quickly and reared down to chomp on its enemy. But Raishin was far too agile as he jumped out of the way and onto the dragon-rock type.

"Now use discharge." Ordered Erica calmly. Her electric hound released the static wave, but he didn't succeed in dealing too much damage.

After taking that unsuccessful attack, Tyrantrum instinctively attempted attack the Manetric on its back through bites.

"Quick Tyrantrum, use dragon claw!" Said Zinnia.

The dinosaur swerved its back around and brought its small arms close enough to swipe Raishin successively.

Even though it was a same type attack that was able to land a direct hit, Raishin managed to shake it off and get back up immediately. Though the obvious durability of the opponent was practically unnoticed by Zinnia. She didn't show much intimidation  
towards it.

"Now Tyrantrum, use crunch again!" Cheered the red-eyed girl.

'Again? Why?' Thought Erica. It was obvious that the attack didn't work the first time.

"Dodge." Raishin anticipated the oncoming attack and jumped out the way.

But he didn't anticipate that Tyrantrum would follow and slam the jaws shut mid-air. Naturally, it was unexpected and certainly met with panic.

"Don't panic Raishin, just use discharge." Said Erica calmly.

While being violently thrashed in the maw of Tyrantrum, the electric hound dispersed the powerful electric attack. It was greatly damaging because Tyrantrum's armor didn't protect it's insides.

The hefty fossil pokemon collapsed while still twitching. Erica nonchalantly retrieved her loyal partner and sent out Aquarius in his stead.

"Sorry about that Tyrantrum. Please get some rest." Urged Zinnia as she retrieved her pokemon and sent out a Goodra.

'Has she been to Kalos before?' Questioned Erica in her thoughts. "Aquarius, use ice beam!"

"Goodra, use dragon pulse!"

The two beams collided into each other, but the latter collapsed because of its dragon aspects against an ice attack. Goodra took the attack square in the face and stumbled backwards a little.

"Don't give up Goodra, use muddy water!" Cheered the red-eyed girl.

Her dragon straightened its vision and summoned a wave of water that became muddy due to the cave's ground. Aquarius took the attack and got in the way to protect Erica.

The attack comically continued and slammed Brendan into the wall. Spirals were in his eyes as a result of the impact.

"Aquarius, use coil." The water serpent proceeded to boost all of her stats by coiling up.

"Before she stops, use dragon pulse again!" Said Zinnia with vigor.

The draconic beam soared in the blink of an eye and hit Aquarius hard. But the tender pokemon's skin retained its beauty.

"Attack with disarming voice." Aquarius then proceeded to finish the match with a loud screech that caused Goodra to fall over.

"Aww man. I was hoping that we could win." Pouted Zinnia as she retrieved her pokemon. "Oh well, you win some you lose some."

While the behavior of her opponent was still inconspicuous, Erica's attention was more focused on her boyfriend who was still imprinted in the wall. She promptly proceeded to help him out of there.

"Sorry about that Brendan-kun. I guess we were immersed in the battle." Apologized the blonde as she an Aqua attempted to pull him out.

"It's ok. At least your not angry anymore." Joked Brendan as he got out. His odd and weak humor managed to place a smile on Erica's face.

"You two really do make a cute couple." Noted Zinnia before walking closer to them. "And, again, I'm really sorry about mistaking you."

An act of innocence was hard for the two champions to show disapproval too. While Erica appeared more difficult to assuage, she seemed fairly calm and possibly trusting. Brendan wasn't hard to convince from the start.

"Well, you did apologize. So-"

"Great! But please take this as an apology anyway." Suggested Zinnia as she pulled out a thin rock from her pocket and handed it to Brendan.

Immediately after the rock was handed to him, the meteorite in Erica's bag started to glow again. Instinctive curiosity guided her to pull it out and inspect.

The light emanating from the meteorite was even brighter than before. This prompted some playful surprise in Zinnia.

"Wow, shiny. I guess that you guys should keep that with you then." Her suggestion wasn't met with any denial.

"I suppose that isn't a bad idea. Something important like this is probably best kept in the hands of the talented." Answered Erica with some pride.

Zinnia cracked a smile and laughed a little at that passive insult. Perhaps they weren't on good terms just yet.

"You're probably right, I'll be seeing you guys around. C'mon Aster." She then promptly left the cave with her Whismur following after her.

With her dismissal, the protagonists were just left to themselves. The absence of Zinnia made Brendan realize that he had almost completely forgotten about her previous actions.

Apparently, a good brawl can clear up bad relationships for everybody. Or at least by his logic it would appear that way.

"I guess she isn't that bad after all." Noted Brendan.

"Maybe, but let's be on our toes." Suggested Erica as she placed the meteorite back in her bag.

Immediately, Brendan showed some surprise; he and Aqua looked to each other with curious expressions.

"Why? She seems pretty nice."

"I know. But I get the feeling that she wasn't battling to her fullest." Explained the girl.

Ironically, despite history, that did make sense to Brendan. His girlfriend's pokemon were able to clear through all of Zinnia's with very little trouble.

Yet last night, she managed to kidnap him with minimal effort. Not to mention that Salamence wasn't in that battle. But there were too many possible unknown facts that could effect the scenario.

'Erica-chan has a point, Zinnia didn't seem like herself. She was a lot more-' Suddenly, his pokenav started to vibrate.

Pulling the device to his face, he opened it up to see that he got a message from Wally. Out of curiosity he opened the message, and he found that it was asking about the safety of Brendan's and Erica's keystones.

"Wally's asking me about our keystones." Stated Brendan.

Erica's attention to Zinnia's peculiar behavior was redirected to this odd question. "That's odd. You're sure he's not talking about the mega stones?"

"Pretty sure." Reassured the brunette as he skimmed the text again. "I think that we should head to him and ask directly."

"Because Team Magma and Team Aqua could be involved?" Inquired Erica.

"You know me so well."

The flight to Petalburg City was one that took a little longer than usual. Latios opted to carry both Brendan and Erica there because of his sister having to fly so much earlier.

"Wait, what makes you think that he is here?" Asked Erica with some level of disbelief.

"Well, he moved here when he first met." Explained Brendan before dismounting and retrieving Latios.

He swiftly surveyed the surrounding area for any signs of his kouhai. Not much time was used before he spotted Wally in front of a house with somebody wearing a Team Magma hood confronting him and his weakened Altaria.

Being quick to act, Brendan rushed over to protect his friend. If what Zinnia told wasn't a lie, that is.

"Wally!" Yelled the brunette as he rushed over.

Once he got close enough, Brendan immediately recognized this girl as the kuudere that worked for Team Magma.

"Brendan? What're you doing here?" Asked Wally in surprise.

"You...preparing...to delete..." Proclaimed Courtney despit hearing Brendan. "But...this can...be forgone...for the keystone..."

Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Brendan immediately understood why his friend had sent him that message.

"No way, you're not getting Wally's keystone!" Proclaimed the brunette before charging in to attack with force.

Casually, Courtney released a Camerupt that blitzed into Brendan. He normally could've brushed off the blow, but his previous injuries wouldn't allow him that freedom.

Seeing her boyfriend fall onto the ground and grip his stomach in agony, Erica rushed over. "Brendan-kun!"

"No Erica-chan, get out of here." Urged the brunette. "Go to Littleroot town, I'll be there soon."

Going by the present threat of a keystone thief, it was obvious that May was a potential target as well. It would be more beneficial if Erica went there to protect May as well.

Besides, if Brendan ran out of energy and couldn't properly battle, Wally and his pokemon could take over.

"Alright, I trust you." Said the girl before leaving.

The assurance of his girlfriend managed to give Brendan a smile. He pulled out a pokeball and sent out Natsumi to the battle.

"Use eruption." Commanded Courtney. Her pokemon obediently followed the order and erupted.

"Natsumi, take the attack!" Said Brendan as he jumped around and tried to protect as much of the surround area as he could. Though Natsumi had to cover him due to his sore body. "Now use headbutt!"

After taking eruption, Natsumi charged in and slammed her head against Camerupt.

"Earthquake." Courtney's eyes started to become more irritated at how the battle was escalating.

"Jump with flamethrower."

The fire-ground type slammed its hooves into the ground to shake it violently, but the pure fire type managed to keep herself afloat with flamethrower (Godzilla style).

"And now use shadow ball!" As Natsumi descended, she launched the spectral attack towards Camerupt and landed a critical hit.

After being hit by that, Camerupt begun to lose its balance. Obviously, Brendan's quick thinking in battle along with his pokemon's experience had improved so much since last time that there really wasn't any competition in this match.

Courtney grinded her teeth in frustration as she came to that realization, and she promptly retrieved Camerupt.

"Mission...aborted..."

Without even using a flash grenade, she fled the scene. Brendan attempted to give chase, but he was stopped by Wally grabbing his arm.

"Wally, what're you doing?" Asked the brunette as he yanked his arm off.

"Just let her go Brendan, she didn't steal anything." Answered the meek boy.

Although the threat was cleared away, being told this prompted more curiosity in the mind of the champion.

Erica had sprinted as quickly as she could to get to Littleroot Town. While she wasn't out of shape, such a quick stretch wasn't easy to do.

'I need to exercise with Brendan-kun.'

She ran for a few more seconds before entering the tiny town. It didn't take too long before she could catch sight of May being confronted by Matt, which wasn't too hard given that his shirt was literally ripped off.

Although the scene wasn't completely discernable, she could make out the image of a Crawdaunt in front of Matt.

Without much more thought, Erica sent out Hanataro. In her eyes, abusing type advantage was the quickest and best way to end this.

"Hanatoro, use petal blizzard!" Commanded the blonde. Her masquerade pokemon unleashed the attack was able to single handedly take down Matt's Crawdaunt.

"What? It's you again!" Proclaimed the Aqua admin while stating the obvious.

"Listen. I don't know what you're up to here, but you won't be hurting anybody here today." Said Erica in a semi-deadly tone.

After Archie had made the decision to cease the criminal actions of Team Aqua, Erica subconsciously thought it would be better to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Just shut up, I'm not leaving without that keystone! I gotta help out ma bro!" That subconscious decision of mercy was starting to get weaker for the blonde.

"Look, you and your pokemon only forced us into a corner last time because of your field advantage. But now you don't have that."

Erica's logic was simple enough that this stalwart was able to understand it. In a plain grassy field, he couldn't even bring out Sharpedo to battle. And his opponent's champion status would shine through clearly if he acted stubbornly.

"Damn you." Matt then fled from the scene.

Impulse would've forced Erica to give chase and get him to spill the information, but she was more concerned with May.

"You ok? He didn't steal anything?" Inquired the foreigner.

"No, he didn't. But somebody else already got my keystone." Answered May with a hint of reluctance. Which was met with Erica's eyes narrowing.

Back in Petalburg City, Brendan was trying to understand the facts that Wally was telling him.

"I don't understand Wally. If she didn't get your keystone, then who did?" Asked the confused boy.

"Some weird girl with a cape. She said her name was Zinnia." Answered Wally without the mention of her beating him afterwards.

A very mixed expression decorated Brendan's face after hearing that. He knew that something wasn't completely clear about Zinnia, but her actions from earlier didn't pain her up as a bad person in the slightest.

Knowing that she had stolen keystones from his friends only succeeded in adding more mystery to the mix.

'That girl...just who is she?'

 **18 hours and 29 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope you liked it. And yes, I know that you battle Team Magma/Aqua before you meet up with Zinnia at Granite Cave. I just wanted to change things a little bit; it is too boring to have everything be a retelling.  
Anyway, favorite, follow, or review, or maybe do all three.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't control Pokémon. If I did, then we'd put really subtle clues in the series (yes, just like fnaf)

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

'That girl. Just what is she up to?' Questioned Brendan in his thoughts.

Wally watched his friend pondering the complexity of the situation and wondered himself what was going on.

"Brendan, do you know something about this?" Asked the green-haired boy.

"Well, I did run into her earlier." Answered the brunette. "But I didn't know that she had your keystone."

Adding in that last part about the lack of knowledge was a good move on Brendan's part. His kouhai wouldn't become angry enough to hyper-interrogate.

"I feel really ashamed." Admitted Wally as he looked to the ground.

Hearing this prompted a curious response from Brendan, which was made evident by him looking over to Natsumi. But she didn't have much of a good response to this inquiry.

"Why is that?"

"Altaria and I tried to stop her, but she used an Altaria too. The gap was so great..." He trailed off and continued to gaze at the ground as if it would give him something.

It was obvious that his Altaria also felt shame at being defeated so easily by another dragon.

Dissonance rang in Brendan's head as he continued to watch this. That red-eyed girl appeared so nice earlier. Even going so far as to apologize for her actions. But seeing good friends depressed because of her actions was disheartening, to say the least.

'I'm gonna find that girl. But maybe this was a mistake too...' Brendan's decisions wouldn't be so easy to make.

However, while the dissonance and lack of answers was attractive, the protagonist had to help his friend first. Once again, he turned to Natsumi for an answer.

Seeing his fire fox reminded him of all the adversities that they had overcome together, even the ones that didn't seem possible.

"Don't let it get to you Wally." Reassured Brendan with a straight face.

"Easier said than done." Answered the green-haired boy.

"Well, there'll always be new challenges on the horizon. You'll just have to accept that there is always somebody better than you." Assured Brendan. "And, just between you and me, Erica and her pokemon have always beaten us." Admittedly he whispered that last bit of information.

The ears of his kouhai popped up after hearing that piece of information. "Really!? They always beat you?"

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that it took a long while for her to beat her teachers too." Admitted the protagonist as he started to laugh a little.

Even though he wasn't a psychologist in the least of manners, Brendan seemed to do well in giving his friend the reassurance he needed. It earned him a smile from Natsumi.

Unbeknownst to him though, Steven approached from behind. Wally had no trouble catching sight of the geologist and was going to announce his arrival. But a hand gesture from said geologist acted as a delay. He seemed interested in this information.

"So try not to get down about losing to a random person. I mean, I've been with Erica for weeks and I've never beaten her before." Said Brendan.

"Alright then, I'll make sure that we get even stronger." Answered Wally with newfound confidence.

"Oh, so Erica is even better than you?" Said Steven which caused Brendan and Natsumi to flinch profusely. "And I was under the assumption that you two were rivals."

"How long were you there?" Asked Brendan with surprise still in his body while his Ninetails growled lowly at Steven.

Steven couldn't help but chuckle at his successor's quirky behavior, despite the angry fox. But he had an important errand to attend to, so enjoyment was limited to a minimum.

"Only long enough. But that aside, I need you and Erica to come with me." Demanded the silver-haired man, discarding his humored expression for a focused tone.

Although Brendan was focused on chasing after Zinnia at the moment, he couldn't get past this sudden change in tone from Steven. It was enough to be convincing for him.

"Well alright, but Erica's in Littleroot Town." Explained Brendan.

"Then we'll just have to go get her." Insisted Steven.

Just as usual for the main protagonist, he wasn't given much room to argue. While Steven's tone didn't come off as demanding but not coercive either.

Adding that to the history of events in which Steven needed his aide to save the world made the demand much more accepting.

"Alright, but I've gotta take care of something quickly first." Answered Brendan.

Steven perked an eyebrow at this. "Ok, but I implore that you don't take too long."

Brendan was implicitly aware of the fact that Team Magma and Team Aqua were causing trouble again, and he could only assume that this was related to that. But there was something to fix before leaving.

"Hey Wally, you're gonna get your keystone back." Promised the brunette. This promise was expected and unexpected.

Wally's Altaria also showed this surprise. They both expected that the keystone would be returned, but neither thought that Brendan would go after it.

"What do you mean? Are you going to hunt down Zinnia?" Asked Wally, partially hoping that his senpai wasn't letting anger take full control.

Brendan couldn't help but chuckle after hearing that solution. "No, but I get the feeling that I'm going to run into her again. And when I do, I'll demand her for the keystone."

Humor was expressed from Wally in the manner of a quick laugh. The brunette might've been the senpai, but he still had some quirky behavior.

"Alright, but I'm going to hold you to it." Promised Wally in return.

A nod and a slap of hands was given in return before Brendan and Natsumi left the scene.

The earlier behavior in battle made Erica suspicious of Zinnia, but learning of her intentional theft of a keystone confirmed that she wasn't to be trusted. And hearing that May was attacked by this very girl only succeeded in making the blonde even angrier.

Her eyebrows furrowed in anger and frustration, but she was calmed by Hanatoro. The pokemon didn't like seeing his trainer upset.

Sighing, Erica decided to take the calm approach to this predicament.

"So she assaulted you and stole the keystone?" Asked Erica.

"Yeah, it all happened so fast that I literally couldn't react in time." May's face was mixed between being anger and shame. "Her power was so much that I was paralyzed."

Placing her thumb under her chin, Erica began to ponder why a keystone alone was stolen. If it was already known that May could mega-evolve her Sceptile, then it was also true that the knowledge of her possessing Sceptilite could be widespread as well.

After dealing with Archie and confronting Zinnia before, she had a feeling that there must've been some level of reason behind that enigmatic heist. The answer remained elusive.

'I just don't understand...keystones are rare, but she already has one. Each mega-stone is even more rare so-'

The brainstorm ceased with Erica donning a face of utter surprise. Such an expression didn't go unnoticed by May.

'Could it be? Can a keystone be used for more than Mega Evolution?' Pondered the blonde.

"Erica, what's wrong?" Asked May with some level of confusion and worry.

Pulling herself out of the shock and predicament of wonder, Erica managed to come up with a lie. She didn't want to drag May into it.

"I'm just a little worried about some other people with keystones, that's all." Hanatoro could easily tell that it was a complete lie, but he understood that his trainer was serious.

Such an easy excuse didn't sell to the brunette girl. Apparently, her intuition could detect more than just the romantic feelings of others.

Prying into the matter further to get a truthful answer was a casual response.

Luckily for Erica though Brendan arrived on the scene alongside Steven. The sudden arrival would be a good excuse to change the subject.

"Brendan-kun, is Wally ok?" Asked the blonde.

"He's fine, but-"

"Pardon my rudeness, but I need you two to come with me." Interrupted Steven before straightening his tie.

Of course the others were all more concerned with the matter of missing keystones. So their cooperation would be a little hard for the former champion to win over.

"Are you sure Steven? If it is about Magma and Aqua, they shouldn't be as hard to deal with." Insisted Brendan.

"Well, it isn't about them. Actually, it mostly concerns The Devon Corporation." Explained Steven.

Dismissing any amount of danger that could possibly be attributed to Magma and Aqua was both intriguing and irritating. Intrigue was found in Brendan as he expected there to be some act driven by radical actions.

Annoyance was with Erica because she was far more concerned with the matter of Zinnia's aggressive actions. Her interests lied in exacting her own brand of justice.

'But then again, Steven Stone isn't one to simply ask ridiculous errands.' Thought Erica, giving the silver-haired geologist some credit.

"Erica-chan, I think that this is some serious business. Maybe we should go with Steven." Said Brendan.

The opinion of her boyfriend was one that wouldn't be rejected now. She relented to the demand.

"Alright, we'll come along." Answered the blonde before turning over to May. "Just try to keep going about your daily life."

It was undeniable that May's skill with pokemon wasn't nearly as good as Brendan's or Erica's, but she still took some offense to this. After all, it was her keystone that was stolen.

"I appreciate your concern for me on this Erica, but I need to go find my keystone." Argued the brunette girl.

Brendan's ears perked up after hearing that. His assumption and rare tactical thinking had been proven true. Due to previous events, he could only guess that Zinnia was the culprit.

"I'm well aware, but still-"

"Don't worry about it May; I promise you that your keystone will be returned." Said Brendan as he cut off Erica's sentence.

Oddly enough, the gray eyes of the brunette showed no intentions of even remotely letting that promise fail. He was displaying an unusual level of passion.

"Well...ok then..." May abandoned her previous thoughts.

While the Kalos Champion remained surprised about the sudden change of heart, she wasn't one to look a gift Rapidash in the mouth.

"Ok then, please come with me to Rustboro." Demanded Steven as he released his Skarmory and mounted it.

He received cooperating nods from the heroes before they released Latios and Latias and mounted them. The latter had since regained her strength for a short fly.

May watched on from the ground as the three flew away. She couldn't help but feel confusion and surprise at her own actions. Just like Erica, she personally felt resentment towards Zinnia and wanted justice.

Isolating her emotions led her to believe that Brendan's passion was somewhat influential.

'That or I really trust him...It's probably that one.'

Flying towards Rustboro City took much longer than the protagonists would've preferred. Though no signs of irritation arose due to the anonymity of the situation.

"If I am to be truthful about the situation; not even I know what the President wants with you two." Admitted the geologist.

Surprise adorned the brunette's face. "So you just did what he asked without any questions?"

"Well, I trust that my father wouldn't just ask me to do something stupid." Steven shrugged his shoulders as he explained.

"Huh? He is your father?" Asked Erica in surprise.

Though truthfully she should've noticed from a while ago. Similarities and connections were apparent in the form of their hair color and Devon Corp.'s obvious connections with stones.

The pedestals of stones outside the building started to make some sense to the blonde.

"Yes, I probably should've mentioned earlier." Humbly admitted Steven.

Erica graciously accepted the pseudo-apology and chose to avoid mentally slapping herself. Seeing as Keith was incredibly smart and she learned from him. Probably a good choice.

With the knowledge of Steven's relations to the company made known, Brendan and Erica followed him into the building. Arrival to the President's office didn't take long after a brisk ascent of the stairs.

Both heroes remembered Mr. Stone appearing as kind and warm. So seeing his serious expression that demanded great results to be offsetting.

"You did your job well Steven." Congratulated the elderly man without losing his face.

"All in a day's work sir." Steven's tone remained calm and playful.

A tone that displayed a calm nature in a business room wasn't exactly hospitable to Brendan. He knew that Steven was by no chance an ambitious villain.

'But the way he is talking...'

Mr. Stone had no intentions of lightening up upon his expression as he got up from the desk to explain.

"I understand that you two are the adventurous types, which is why I must implore you assistance." Requested the elderly man.

Without much thought Brendan was ready to respond to this unusual request. Though a hand on the shoulder stopped him from doing so, Erica had a sympathetic look that he could easily read.

'Yeah, Erica-chan, I know. You're better at talking about these kinds of things...' Berated Brendan.

"Under normal circumstances, that is what we would be doing. But we have very important errands. Which is why we need a good reason to help out."

A sigh arose from the president. Children could be so persistent. Well, they were children to him.

"Time is against us, so I'll be brief." Began Mr. Stone. "Devon Corp. is partnered with several different organizations in the Hoenn region and one of those is the Mossdeep Space Program."

Brendan had little trouble remembering that Mossdeep city had a center for space research. But seeing a giant space shuttle is one thing that is hard to forget.

"Earlier today, they were observing a set of asteroids that were positioned to move across the Earth's atmosphere. But one unusually large asteroid has altered it's course."

Surprise decorated Brendan, Erica, and Steven when they heard that. Such a claim was hard to accept (yes even in the Pokémon Universe...one of them, at least).

Though logic wouldn't make this statement too hard to swallow.

"But Father why does Devon Corp. need to assist in this manner? Isn't it possible that the asteroid could have been hit by debris?" Suggested Steven.

"Yes, and that may well be the explanation, but the true problem lies in where the object is pointed towards."

The younger audience couldn't help but lean in a little, eager to hear the rest of this explanation. It was obvious that this man was nervous to disclose this situation.

"It is calculated to impact at Mt. Pyre."

An involuntary flinch took Erica back when she heard that. Its impact is the same location where Groudon and Kyogre were being imprisoned.

'There's no way...that can't be a coincidence...' Her face started to grow pale as she imagined the worse possible outcomes.

There was no solid evidence, but it was entirely possible that the Magma and Aqua pokeballs could be destroyed and release the two titans. Their freedom would be accompanied by the resuming of their battle.

Just thinking about that made the girl feel a little sick.

"Erica-chan? What's wrong?" She turned over to see the concerned face of her boyfriend. "Are you sick? Do you need to go outside?"

Though his concern was touching, she had to turn it down for a bit and swallow the sick feeling. It felt shameful to be a champion and succumb to such problems.

"Don't worry Brendan-kun, I'm alright." Reassured the girl with a smile.

"I would hope so child." Said President Stone. "Because I've yet to tell you-"

"There is no need sir, I believe that I already understand the seriousness of this." Interrupted Brendan as he caught everyone off guard.

"Do you, Brendan?" Asked Steven with a hint of nervous disbelief.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, if it was enough to make Erica-chan sick and drain the color from her face, then this is a real issue." Answered the brunette.

Both shame for her weakened state and affection for her partner's care dotted Erica's mind. After all, she hadn't even told him what happened to Groudon and Kyogre. This was a good sign that their relationship was healthy.

Mr. Stone was slightly irritated at being interrupted, but any help that could avert this crisis would be appreciated.

"Very well then. I have a task that the three of you should embark on." Stated the old man. "The Space Center research has concluded that a meteorite should have a level of energy that could power our machine."

The demand and explanation sounded ludicrous to Brendan. Even though he had seen it first hand, it was still hard to believe that a machine would be powered by a rock.

'Seriously though, I'm not a smart guy but that doesn't make much sense at all.' Thought the protagonist.

As he thought that, he remembered that there was a meteorite that Erica had on her along with the shard that Zinnia gave him.

Couples must think alike as the blonde girl had the same idea in mind.

"Sir, would this work?" Asked Erica as she pulled out the rock from her bag.

"I'm afraid not. Our associates said that a specific amount is required." Explained Mr. Stone. "A smaller sample would be required for this task."

"You mean like this?"

Everyone present turned their attention towards Brendan as he pointed to the shard in his hand. Needless to say there was quick shock.

'Oh yeah! Zinnia gave that to him.' The blonde champion had been preoccupied with being angry at Zinnia and a second impending crisis.

"Brendan! You had that on you this whole time?" Asked Steven in utter surprise, to which the brunette nodded.

For the first time since the meeting had begun, Mr. Stone sighed in relief and cracked a smile. There was no guarantee that the solution would actually work. But there was now hope for them.

Perhaps in addition to running into trouble Brendan and Erica seemed to get their fair share of luck.

"So what do we do with this thing?" Asked the brunette.

"You'll need to deliver it to Mossdeep Space Center; they'll know what to do with it."

Under his normal behavior, Brendan would just do what he was told in these situations. But his claim earlier about the absurd energy in a meteorite made him curious.

And for good reason as he didn't even know what kind of machine they would be using. For that matter, they didn't even know what kind of method was planned to remedy the predicament.

The brunette's curiosity got the better of him and pressed him to ask. "Just so we know, how are we going to deal with this asteroid?"

While seemingly innocent in nature, the question posed by Brendan brought silence to the room.

"That is a good question Brendan-kun. What method will the machine use?" Asked Erica, but she too was met with no verbal response.

"Hey c'mon and tell us. Our pokemon are going to be stressed and we don't like doing that to them." Noted the brunette, trying to enact some guilt.

Steven felt some unease as well. He knew that his father didn't like this predicament from the start, but this distrust and refusal to cooperate wasn't appealing.

"I admit that I have doubts about the procedure, which is why I don't like talking about it..." Mr. Stone retained his serious and distrusting face.

Admittedly, this made it even harder for Brendan to trust and cooperate with the mission. After all, Archie tried to use the power of a meteorite to render a volcano dead.

'But still...if it's heading towards Mt. Pyre and it made Erica-chan sick...' The brunette gripped his fist in irritation, but he quickly gave in. "Alright, we'll do it."

Being eager to save the region, again, Brendan quickly exited the office. He was quickly pursued by his girlfriend to prevent him from falling on his butt down the stairs.

"I'll go with them. I think it would be best to accompany them and represent Devon Corp. there." Suggested Steven before he calmly exited the room as well.

With all of them gone, President Stone was left in his office by himself again. An exhausted sigh escaped from him. It truly was irritating that his son chose to do that for his corporation.

'The children shouldn't have to defend this region, that is the job of the adults.' His attention was shifted to a picture that depicted a younger Steven with a shiny Beldum.

Standing up from his desk, eyesight was shifted towards the ocean in the distance.

'At least we won't rely solely on the power of pokemon either...they all deserve better than that.'

The couple wasted no time in getting towards the exit of the tall building and didn't even have a second thought before pulling out the pokeballs of their dragons.

"Hold on there you two!" Yelled Steven before he caught up to them. "I know that there is an impending crisis on the horizon, but we're in no need to exhaust Latios and Latias."

Normally Erica would be the first to respond in this situation, but Brendan beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, I understand that too. Personally I don't want to, but I'm positive that Latios understands." Retorted the boy, taking a position for argument.

"Well, that is a good point. But there is ample time to arrive at Mossdeep city. I'd say at least ten hours." Speculated the geologist.

"How long will it take for them to prepare the machine?"

Steven cupped his chin and pondered the answer for a few moments. Despite not being an astronomer himself, the lady-killer was able to give a good enough estimate.

"Well, I'm only a geologist, but I'd say about four hours." Answered Steven.

"Well, let's hurry then!" Yelled Brendan to the sky, probably catching the attention of bystanders. He was too eager to protect Hoenn to take his time.

Doing her best to ignore the quirky behavior of her boyfriend, Erica tried to come up with a good transportation method. The eon twins would be ready to fly again soon, because there was little doubt for the legendaries' ability to recover.

Obviously, crossing the ocean was the only other option.

'Wait a minute, maybe we could ask Mr. Briney for a ride to Mossdeep.' Thought the girl. "Hey Brendan-kun, maybe we could ask Mr. Briney for a lift."

Although it had been a some time since they had met with the Sailor and his companion Wingull, it would be nice to meet with them again.

"Alright then, though I'm not sure though about asking him for a free ride." Noted the brunette.

His girlfriend simply chose to wave it off and pull something out of the her bag. It was a blue gem shaped like a sparkle. "Don't worry about it. I can pay him."

Steven became speechless when he saw the gem that Erica had pulled out, but her boyfriend remained oblivious. It was probably a good thing that Brendan didn't notice that it was a comet shard.

Settling on taking a boat towards Mossdeep city, the three left the scene.

In Lilycove City, Zinnia stood along the coastline with her Noivern and Aster. Despite her earlier prevalent actions, she made no effort to disguise herself from the public eye.

Even more bold than that was the two keystones that she held in her hand. Satisfaction spread across her face in the form of a smile. Aster seemed to beg for her attention from the ground.

"No, we don't need to do that. About five or so should do the trick. But the more the merrier." Said Zinnia.

She turned over to her Noivern and scratched the side of its muzzle, and the gesture was appreciated.

"Sorry to make you fly everywhere for us." Apologized the girl, though her dragon didn't really seem to mind.

Her expression grew serious as it shifted to the sky. Both of her pokemon watched her from behind and were too nervous to do anything at all.

"That tragedy...it won't happen again..."

 **16 Hours, 57 minutes, and 12 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter; I hope you guys liked it. Sorry that it took a little while to get out, but the holidays are important. But as always, please leave me a review if there is anything that you've got to say.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, otherwise the Delta Episode would've followed more similarly to this story.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

"Thanks again for the ride Mister-err...Captain Briney." Said Brendan as they arrived in Mossdeep city.

Asking for a lift towards the island city wasn't met with any amount of denial or price. The old man was more than happy to take them there as he was already going to make an errand run to Mossdeep anyway.

"It's no problem Brendan." Said the old man as he lifted up a large crate, displaying an absurd amount of strength for his age.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to pay for this? I'm sure that you've got to use fuel to get here." Offered Erica.

"Nope, I get paid for doing this. So you don't even need to worry about me or Peeko." Answered Captain Briney with a happy expression.

Steven walked up to the old man and shook his free hand. "Regardless of the price, we thank you for the assistance."

Making haste of the situation, Brendan disembarked from the ship towards the Space Center. His attitude came across to Erica as slightly rude. Her boyfriend was prone to act more friendly around others, especially those whom he had already known.

'But...I know that he just wants to end this...' Thought the blonde.

She wanted to end this problem as well. Her original intention of vacation had been delayed so much that it was pretty distant.

Brendan briskly entered the Space Center and was faced with the welcome center.

"This place doesn't look nearly as important as I thought." Noted the brunette as he looked over to the astronaut photo setup.

"I'm guessing that the observation area is on a different floor." Inferred Erica as she walked in. Steven followed after her.

"Yeah. Do you know where it is Steven?" Asked Brendan.

"I can't say for certain, but I'd guess over there." He nodded over to the right at a door that read, 'ASTRONOMER PERSONELL ONLY'.

Not that Brendan didn't trust his friend, but he assumed that the room was for astronauts to change into their suits.

However, that idea was quickly dismissed as Steven walked over to the help desk in the front. A few seconds of discussion between him and the lady was concluded by him pointing to the door.

'This feels a little weird, going where we are not told to.' Thought Brendan as he opened the door for Erica.

"Goodness, chivalry isn't dead." Noted the girl jokingly.

As Steven passed by, he nudged Brendan and winked; a sign that was obviously interpreted as a good move on his part.

Walking up a set of stairs led the trio to a long hallway of evenly spaced doors. Instinctively, Brendan and Erica looked over to Steven for directions of which door to enter.

"I think it is the third one of the right."

Taking that and believing it to be true, Brendan opened said door and entered a very large room filled with control panels and a large monitor. There were many pieces of information being noted by the staff. None of which Brendan attempted to understand.

"Ah, you've all arrived!" Turning his attention to the voice, Brendan could see Professor Cozmo.

"You're that professor that we met in Meteor Falls. How are you doing?" Asked the brunette after stating the obvious.

A nervous expression appeared on the professor's face; he wasn't prepared for the current problem.

"I wish I could say that everything is well, but the obvious is painful."

"That shouldn't last much longer." Noted Steven, attracting some attention. "Brendan here has the item that you've specifically requested."

Impulsively the professor showed a great deal of surprise and glee. Getting praised so often whether it was verbal or not was nice, but Brendan didn't really like being in the spotlight too much at the time.

"Really? You have an meteorite of the right size and shape?!" The brunette nodded a little cautiously.

"Yes I do. But I do have a few favors before I hand it over." Requested the protagonist, giving himself a negative image in the minds of others.

'What are you thinking about Brendan-kun?' Thought Erica.

Under normal circumstances, this would've been taken into high question. But the alternative of denial wouldn't be good.

"Fine, what do you want?!"

"First, I want to let our pokemon out. They need some time out of the pokeballs, and I promise that they'll behave."

Blinking in disbelief, Erica had a little trouble understanding this odd demand. Keith's teaching's showed again as she quickly deduced the reasoning.

She and her boyfriend held keystones, Steven had a keystone, and this area had a lot of complex equipment. Based on the adversaries made thus far, this situation was ripe for an attack.

"He does have a point." Stated the blonde. "They have been in their pokeballs for a while now. I'm sure that they'd appreciate it."

"Alright! We'll submit to that demand, just hand us the meteorite!" Begged Professor Cozmo.

Taking pleasure in that, Brendan and Erica released their pokemon. All the pokemon were initially surprised at first. But they truly did appreciate time outside of a pokeball every once in a while.

"Ok guys, behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble." Said Brendan before giving a special glance at Rin and Natsumi.

"It would be good to not cause any ruckus in here. So be on your best." Ordered Erica. Luckily, her pokemon never picked fights with each other.

"Alright Brendan, they've met your demand. You should hand over the item now." Said Steven. His tone made it evident that he wasn't happy with his successor's choice.

The brunette was about to reject and demand that the whole process be explained first. But a hand on his shoulder deterred him from that action.

"Erica-chan?" He looked over to see his girlfriend give a short nod with a small smile. Giving this reinforced the decision to make the transaction.

Trusting the decision of the Kalos champion, Brendan pulled out the shard from his back pack and handed it over to the professor.

It should be noted that said scientist was very careful when taking the item. Cautiousness could've been an understatement as he didn't even close his hand while holding it before handing it off to somebody else.

"Now then Professor Cozmo, please explain the procedure." Requested Steven.

'Huh? Did he know that I was going to ask that?' Thought Brendan in surprise.

"Very well, I suppose that that is instantly earned." Said Professor Cozmo before walking over to a monitor that detailed a flight pattern into outer space.

"Right now, as we speak, a shuttle is being loaded with capsules that will contain chemical compounds from the shard. Along with that, it will contain elements to mimic the process of mega evolution."

Images on the monitor detailed this event's process with high precision. One of said images detailed the flight path of the rocket along with the predicted path of the asteroid.

Still somewhat on the cautious side of things, Brendan tried to make sense of these images. Doing so made him feel like the first to see that the lines intersected at the same point.

'I know that I'm not a scientist like these guys, but I'm pretty sure that they'll crash.' Thought the brunette nervously.

Brendan took a note from Erica's usual choice of procedures. He made sure that neither her nor Steven had said anything before he spoke up.

"Hey, aren't those lines pointed directly at each other?" Noted Brendan a little nervously. His comment did put him in the spotlight; he regretted that a little bit.

"That is true. And it is no coincidence." Answered Professor Cozmo nonchalantly.

Brendan immediately thought of an explosion as the end result of this choice. While it did seem cool in hindsight, he couldn't ignore this subconscious worry that was welling up in him.

"So is the rocket supposed to destroy the meteor by exploding into it?" Asked Brendan cautiously; he didn't want to appear even more stupid.

"Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea. But the meteoroid is about a mile in diameter. It is pretty safe to say that an explosion wouldn't completely eradicate it without damaging the atmosphere."

After hearing that explanation the boy shrunk away, and not because he was wrong; he had no idea that the meteoroid was that big.

Truth be told, Erica and Steven were also surprised by this new piece of information.

"It's that big?! That impact would wipe out most of Hoenn!" Yelled the silver-haired geologist, shocking even the pokemon on the other side of the room.

"Y-yes, didn't President Stone tell you?" Asked Professor Cozmo.

Shaking his head, Steven understood why his father seemed so nervous about this operation.

'This problem is way different than I expected.' Thought Erica. She only thought that Groudon and Kyogre would be released. An explosion that would level an entire region wasn't any better.

Brendan too felt the gravity of the situation. His lack of knowledge outside pokemon battles forced him to rely one Erica's knowledge.

Professor Cozmo decided to continue with his lecture about the plan, even if his audience didn't fully comprehend the message yet.

"W-well, we plan to create a wormhole in the atmosphere to transport the meteoroid to another universe altogether."

More shock appeared on the faces of all three of the keystone wielders. While the technology for their world was always questionable, this statement took the cake.

"A wormhole? You mean like the ones that take things to other places?" Asked Brendan despite reiterating what he was just told. The professor confirmed that with a nod.

"But how? I mean...how do you do that?" Asked Erica in utter disbelief.

"We're going to invoke a mega evolution which will cause a chain reaction to open the wormhole." Explained Professor Cozmo blatantly.

This must've been a day for surprises (and a Greek letter) as more disbelief and question arose from the audience.

"You're going to mega evolve...and create a wormhole?" Brendan's mind was just about ready to implode at this point.

"Well not exactly. We can't conjure up enough energy from just one person so we'll replicate it from them. The catalyst elements from Devon Corp. should be able to multiply the output."

"That still doesn't explain how mega evolution is going to solve this." Noted Steven.

"I must admit that it is a little hard to comprehend. But the power released in a mega evolution process will fuel a matter transporter device in the rocket. It is a similar process to stepping on a warp pad and ending up in another room."

The explanation reminded Brendan and Erica of when they were in the bases of teams before. The concept of teleportation by a pad was a common asset.

Whilst thinking of that, the brunette turned around to the pokemon. A sense of caution was controlling him as he expected one of those teams to show up at any second.

However, seeing none of that put his mind at ease and returned his attention to the lecture.

"But why use the energy of a mega evolution? Wouldn't a meteorite be enough?" Inquired Erica as she thought back to Archie's use of the meteorite at Mt. Chimney.

"On paper, yes, but we've noticed that mega evolution has some very odd properties not found in any other energy source." Answered Cozmo. "Along with the large amount of energy, we've been able to observe that it can defy reality itself."

"Wait. Mega evolution bends physics? How can that be?" Asked Steven.

"Is it because it pushes evolution to a new stage?" Suggested the blonde champion.

"The hypothesis hasn't been proven yet, but we believe that the energy embodies the emotions of pokemon and trainer."

This wasn't too implausible to reject for the protagonists, but it was still difficult to swallow at best. Creating a wormhole itself sounded like something someone would do in a superhero comic.

There was still some credibility to the idea that Professor Cozmo was stating.

'I guess that I have trouble explaining it too. But I can kind of feel the bond between me and my pokemon become something that I can touch?' Thought Brendan as he tried to make sense of it.

As the process of mega evolution was only exclusive to pokemon that couldn't evolve. So it seemed that it was plausible that it could bend physics.

"I kind of agree with what he is saying." Stated Brendan a little reluctantly.

"I can agree with that. Mega evolution has always seemed to defy expectation. It could even evolve legendary pokemon." Noted Erica as she supported her boyfriend.

"That is true. Legendary pokemon aren't supposed to evolve." Said Steven.

Support from his friends let Brendan breathe a sigh of relief. While the group had a unanimous decision about the process, Steven still had some suspicions.

"I have to ask though, do you know where the portal will open up at?"

"Honestly, no, but this technology would be really hard for anyone to fully control" Admitted the professor.

That answer was deliverd with some level of glee. Adding that along with the uncertainty of the location created some concerns about the operation.

'Well, I guess that he is really happy about some good news for this. Some people crack under stress.' Thought Brendan.

Despite giving him an answer, the boy still felt uncertain about the exit side of the meteoroid. Truly, he really couldn't do anything about it. The alternative leads to a catastrophic impact between the meteoroid and Hoenn.

Even with that reasoning in mind he could still feel some level of unease that was difficult to describe.

'This is hard to put into words, but-'

Brendan's attention was diverted to behind him. Rin and Natsumi appeared agitated as they growled.

"Hey guys, I told you not to fight." Complained the brunette as he briskly walked over to break up their fight.

Yet it appeared that they weren't even facing each other. Instead they both faced the door. At first, Brendan failed to understand why they were facing that direction, but he quickly understood what was going on.

"Erica-chan, get ready for a battle." Said the brunette as his face hardened with seriousness.

"Don't need to tell us twice." Said Erica as she walked up in front of her pokemon, taking a position of command.

Initially, Steven was confused and rejected the idea of battling in such a delicate environment. However, remembering that Brendan mentioned some matters involving Magma and Aqua diverted him to think otherwise.

"Huh? You're going to battle in here? But I thought you said that you wouldn't!" Whined the professor.

Being professional with his position Brendan chose to ignore that. As the Champion, he wanted to see to it himself that any threats to his home were stopped.

Against what most had expected to happen, Zinnia walked into the room alongside Aster. Her arrival triggered some aggressive emotions from Erica.

"Nice, so this is the fancy Space Center." Said the red-eyed girl before leaning to her Whismur. "Isn't it really impressive, Aster?"

The tiny sound pokemon hopped up and down to express her approval. A receptionist, presumably the one who let Brendan and the others in, briskly walked in after Zinnia.

"Young lady, you can't just let yourself in here! This room is of upmost importance!" Exclaimed the woman.

"Ah come on, where's the harm in it? Don't be such a stick in the mud." Replied Zinnia with some kind of rhythm.

To make her presence even more awkward, she picked up Aster in her arms and got close to the receptionist. "...Right?"

Backing away from the enigmatic girl, the receptionist couldn't provide a proper answer.

Steven felt no intimidation from the peculiar actions of the girl. In fact he seemed more curious than anything else.

"Who...are you? You are certainly no sightseer." Noted the geologist, referencing her odd attire and behavior.

Zinnia was about to answer her question while placing Aster on the ground, but she diverted her attention towards Brendan and Erica.

"Oh, it's you two! Man, we just keep running into each other, don't we?" Her tone had shifted back to a playfulness. Something that Brendan remembered too well.

'She's acting just like she did back on the island.' Thought the brunette.

"Wh-who are you?! What are you doing here?! We're very busy!" Professor Cozmo was letting all his pent up stress out. Though he was still a little nervous.

This pent up stress had no effect on the red-eyed girl at all. If anything, it made her act even more playful and obnoxious.

"Me? I'm Zinnia. Just a little tourist, dreaming of taking a trip up to space...heh."

Easily and almost immediately the three keystone bearers interpreted that as a lie. Zinnia then looked over to the screens and, like an excited fanboy, jumped over to the rails to get a closer look.

Facing away from the group left her vulnerable though. Aqua, Latios, and Dokuro leaned in closer to attack without their trainer's command.

However, a shake of his head stopped them. 'Don't do it.'

'Why? We could get answers out of her.' Complained Latios.

'Just...don't do it...we'll definitely get her.' Reassured Brendan.

In similar fashion, Erica urged her pokemon to not attack as well. Though she was well aware of the risks of starting a fight with Zinnia.

"Ohhhh, so this is what has come of technology. Filled the hope, sweat, dreams, blood, and...well the list gets kind of boring after a while. But it contains everything, right?"

"How exactly do you know this? Have you been breaking and entering in here?" Suggested Steven.

"Ha! No, I just know everything about it." Answered the girl before her expression turned dark. "I know about what you're using to fuel this machine. This controversial technology like that machine from 3,000 years ago."

The unique shift in tone alone would've caught anyone's attention, but Erica was specifically interested in the mention of three millennia.

'I've only heard that from one other place...didn't Lysandre say something about that?'

"So you claim that this best for all of us? Best for all of humanity?" Inquired Zinnia. "Just snap your fingers and we are all ok? You have no idea what this could do. It could make things horrible like it did a long time ago..."

Once again, Erica's attention was directed towards that comment about the past. However, Brendan's thoughts were stuck on whatever this could possibly do to harm anyone.

"Well, what do you suggest we do then?" Asked Steven with some irritation. "Should we simply sit here and hope that the meteoroid misses us?"

"Ahaha, what's with you? For a former champion, you see very quick to lose composure." Zinnia's attitude had returned to being playful.

She succeeded in silencing Steven from saying anything else. Simply stating that he was the former champion was enough to surprise him because that information was not public.

"Well, while we're at it, what do you two think? Got any better ideas?" Asked the enigmatic girl as she returned her attention to the champions.

Neither could muster up a good argumentative answer. Truthfully, Erica really wanted to say just about anything to because of her resentment towards Zinnia.

'But if she knows something about AZ, then...'

"I've got nothing..." Admitted Brendan with humility, which put in the spotlight again. "But...if there is a better option...I know that we'll find it."

His answer was definitely without much thought, but it wasn't without any amount of promise. However, all it seemed to do was shift Zinnia back towards her playful mood.

"Is that so? Well then I anticipate when you come up with one. Please tell me about it when you get to your better option."

"Why did you come here?" Asked Erica, as she chose to temporarily discard her confusion.

"Not to be harshly critical, but just to see for myself what you're doing here." Answered the brunette girl. Apparently, she had an immunity to angry blondes.

To keep the surprises coming, Zinnia then took on a look that expressed pity. "Seriously though, you guys need to use your imagination. A wanderer tried to fix this world with this technology and ruined everything."

Whilst explaining this, Aster seemed a little frightened. Zinnia picked up the little one to be comforting.

The act of pity were enough by themselves, but mentioning a wanderer returned Erica to a state of mental paralysis.

As if she paid no heed to anyone else in the room, Zinnia proceeded to excuse herself and Aster. Nobody dared to oppose her, until Brendan remembered the keystones that she had stolen.

"Wait!" He lunged forward to grab the girl, but he missed and slammed into the wall.

Eager to give chase, he opened the door only see that his target had already disappeared from view.

'How does she keep doing that?' Thought the baffled brunette.

Back in the control room, Erica was trying to solve some questions in her thoughts as well. Though she was having better luck than her boyfriend was.

'That pretty much confirms it. She knows about AZ. And if that's true, then she also knows about the machine that he made.'

Thinking about the events from a year ago made her expression deepen with confusion. AZ had found peace, but thinking about what had happened sickened the Champion.

"How much longer until we can use the link cable?" Asked Steven as he turned over to Professor Cozmo.

"U-uh, about seven hours or so...maybe longer." His answer was shaky, proof of how Zinnia got to him.

The blonde champion decided to put her questions aside for now and focus on the inquiry at hand. "You still plan on using it then?"

"Of course. Although that girl is very intriguing and possibly right, this is our only chance right now." Explained the silver-haired man.

Brendan chose to put his concerns about Zinnia to the side as well. In spite of what he had said earlier, his predecessor was correct about limited options.

"Steven's right." Said the brunette as he joined in on the conversation. "We really don't have any other way right now to deal with this."

Denial or question didn't arise from anyone else because it was true. Brendan had come out like a voice of reason for this time of disarray.

"Alright then Brendan-kun, I'm with you on this." Proclaimed the blonde as she got close to him.

"In any case," Began the professor as he got everyone's attention. "If we plan to continue the operation we'll need another meteorite to draw energy from."

Racing his mind to find the quickest solution, Brendan immediately assumed that they would need to head back to Granite Cave. Seeing as how that was the only place that they had actually found one. That seemed to make sense.

"Should we go to Granite Cave? That's where we got the first one."

"No, I believe that you'd have better luck looking in Meteor Falls."

Logic flew in and smacked Brendan in the gut; he quietly chose to accept the task.

"Perhaps you two should stay here." Insisted Steven. "I vaguely remember something important about that area, aside from the-"

"No!" Said both Brendan and Erica in unison.

Their answer did catch the geologist and professor off guard in addition to earing them some embarrassment. Such a quick and reckless response wasn't devoid of reason though.

Recent events were distinct evidence that Zinnia was hunting those who possessed keystones. And because Steven had one, he was an obvious target.

Although Steven and his pokemon couldn't be easily beaten, it would be better for them to remain in an environment in which he was less susceptible to surprise.

Though explaining that to him might only lead to more curiosity and more reason to head to the cavern. So neither Erica nor Brendan explained that to him

"Well, you should stay here because..." Brendan attempted to offer an explanation without giving his friend even more incentive to be curious.

"Because...you should represent Devon Corp. in your father's place." Finished Erica.

"Uh, yeah...what she said." Even Brendan's own pokemon were shaking their heads in shame.

Although it wasn't easy to accomplish, the two convinced Steven that it would be better for him to stay at the Space Center.

Making no assumptions about the time that was available, the protagonists mounted their dragons to fly to Meteor Falls. Both eon twins didn't argue about this seeing as how they had received plenty of rest.

However, while flying to the cave, Latios and Latias were having a private mental conversation.

'Did you notice it Latias?' Asked the blue dragon.

'Yes, nii-san. There is no doubting it now. She is definitely a Draconid.' Answered the red dragon. 'But why is she after keystones?'

'Honestly, I haven't the foggiest idea. But I suspect that it has to do with something powerful.'

Neither wanted to speak any further of the matter as they both knew what this would mean.

Flying in the sky to reach a destination in Hoenn was certainly faster than riding on a boat. And despite the convenience of a quick flight, Brendan felt irritated about being in Rustboro earlier only to return.

Regardless he and Erica took an expedition into Meteor Falls. But finding another shard proved to be a much more difficult task than originally anticipated.

Not even multiplying the efforts by releasing pokemon helped. Though to Brendan's credit, using the keen senses of hound-like pokemon wasn't a bad idea in hindsight.

"This is almost impossible." Said Brendan. "How did Zinnia find that one so easily?"

"Speaking of her, did she also steal a keystone from Wally?" Asked Erica as she felt the time and place was appropriate.

"Yeah, she did. Wally also told me that she battled against his Altaria with her own. He said that they were on a completely different level."

With that, it all but confirmed that this mysterious girl was planning something. Though whether or not it was for the good of everyone was still up for discussion.

Now Erica felt truly compelled to find an answer to this, mostly because of her past interactions with AZ.

However, she and Brendan diverted their attention to the entrance. A member of Team Magma had entered, but her hood was down.

"Oi!" Yelled Brendan as he started over to the girl.

On reflex, the Magma grunt sent out a Numel. "Use flameburst!"

Her attack wasn't nearly as coordinated as Brendan's counter-attack. "Natsumi, take the hit. Rin, jump from behind her."

Displaying a rare form of teamwork for themselves, Natsumi took the blow which allowed Rin to leap forward and use take down on Numel. Such a motion of quick thinking and tactics proved that there literally was no competition.

"Now tell us what you Magma guys are up to. Why are you stealing keystones?" Demanded the brunette.

"Calm down Brendan-kun." Ordered Erica.

"What? Why?" Natsumi and Rin also held surprised expressions at that odd demand.

An argument was almost guaranteed, but a calm expression from Erica and Raishin was a good deterrent from that. The blonde turned over to the grunt. "Why are you here?"

"We've been ordered to look for Admin Courtney. She's gone rogue." Explained the grunt carefully, still somewhat shaken by the sudden attack.

Much to the surprise of Brendan, Erica accepted the answer. More explaining elaborated that the kuudere was most likely to come here after a keystone. Hearing that explanation convinced the boy to let the grunt and her pokemon to continue business.

Being just left to themselves again, Erica cupped her chin as she began to ponder about the situation.

"What're you thinking about Erica-chan?" Asked Brendan curiously.

"I think we need to head to the Aqua base." Answered the girl before recalling several of her friends.

Brendan's pokemon held much of the same surprise as he did after being told that, but it wasn't too much.

"Eh? But we need to find the shard!" Argued the brunette.

"I know, but it is more reason to head there. And if I'm wrong, I promise to make it up to you with either a battle or a date."

The fate of Hoenn rested on this teenager's shoulders, but that probably wasn't a good thing; such an offer was too difficult for him to reject. Especially given the excess time.

"Fine." Sighed Brendan before retrieving his pokemon altogether.

"Don't worry Brendan-kun, you'll definitely save this region." Reassured the girl before exiting.

Joining her was the first thing on his mind, but Brendan's attention was quickly diverted to an odd sound resonating from deeper within the caverns. To make the scene even more unusual, it sounded familiar to him.

Weighing his priorities, the protagonist decided that he needed to follow his girlfriend first and figure that out later.

 **13 Hours, 42 minutes, and 5 seconds until impact**

* * *

Well, this took much longer than I wanted it too. But here is chapter five. Enjoy. Hope you liked the chapter. Please favorite, follow, or review (or you could do all three). And yes, some things do seem a little out of order, but I'm trying to make the story a little more interesting and less of a retelling.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I haven't made it apparent at this point, I do not own Pokémon. Trust me; if I did, then there would be a deeper story concerning Red.

"Speech"

'Thought'

 _"Electronic Communication"_

* * *

A large meteoroid was aimed to crash into Hoenn and possibly kill everyone. Most would simply chose to evacuate themselves and others, but whether or not that would actually work to protect them was up for debate.

The impact that it would cause had the potential to level the entire region. A fallout shelter would be necessary. That doesn't even account for the after effects. Such could only be imagined for the aftermath.

Such was a case for a certain person in Sootopolis City.

Wallace stood under the large tree in the center of the city. He had been pondering the situation at hand despite not being told of the meteoroid by Devon Corp. or the Space Center.

'I suppose that our shelters will hold. But about the rest of the region?' Thought the gym leader.

While only Sootopolis was under his jurisdiction for safety, there was no way he could ignore the fact that the rest of the region was in peril.

"Troubled, Wallace?" Asked a buttery suave voice. Wallace turned around to see a well-dressed man approach him.

The gym leader broke out of his usual composure by eliciting some surprise at this man's arrival. "Master Juan."

"Please, you don't need to refer to me as Master anymore. You are the gym leader after all." Said the suave man.

"Of course. But what brings you back to Sootopolis?" Asked Wallace after regaining his confident composure.

A short friendly conversation ensued in which Juan explained that he had been traveling around the world. Admittedly though, he had spent most of his time in the Kalos region.

"Why were you there for so long?"

"I was curious about certain things. Like this tree." Juan glanced over to the large colorful tree that added variety to the white and blue city.

Wallace followed his friend's eyesight and couldn't help but look at it in a new perspective. Truthfully, he had never questioned the reason as to why it was even there. Sootopolis wasn't exactly near any large landmasses to produce a magnificent tree.

Juan reached into his jacket and pulled out a small book, partially withered. He proceeded to hand it over to the gym leader.

"You are simply too kind sometimes." Noted the turquoise haired man as he accepted the old book.

"Perhaps you are too modest?" Retorted the man before he took his leave.

Allowing his curiosity to get the best of him, Wallace opened the old book. It contained some ancient text that was almost incomprehensible in penmanship to the modern eye. The contents didn't really appear to be in any order.

But the curious mind of the super model compelled him to take on this task. Though any contents that he could locate appeared cryptic to him.

The book mostly detailed specific events of the ancient Kalos war, which had no mentioned name. Diary entries of soldiers talked about their experiences on the battlefields.

'Strange. None of them mention anything of fighting alongside pokemon.' Thought Wallace while he continued reading.

That point was soon made invalid as the next entry talked about how a strange creature in a white dress defended a forest area from a battle.

Following that were multiple entries about how creatures, which resembled pokemon in described appearances and techniques, were fighting alongside the soldiers.

Wrinkling his nose, Wallace detested the words he was reading. Even more disappointment came when it started to talk about women and those younger than eighteen fought in the open battlefields.

But the text suddenly skipped a large amount of time towards after the war had been declared over. Different, inconsistent bits of information were all that was left.

However, one piece caught Wallace's attention.

'A wanderer who searched throughout all the world...trying to restore life for his crimes-'

His usually calm expression flared with bright surprise. Slowly he turned back to the large tree and broke into a short laugh.

"Hehehe, this has truly been a great learning experience."

Meanwhile, Brendan and Erica were busy trying to figure out exactly where Team Aqua's base was located. Such a task proved to be annoying and difficult for the two of them.

It was even more frustrating for Erica because she should remember the location exactly from being their already.

Her brunette companion was also slightly irritated, but he chose not to say anything to further irritate his girlfriend. Today was not a good day to have his face frozen by Aquarius's ice beam.

"I know it is around here somewhere. I've already been there!" Grunted the blonde.

"Well how did you find it the first time?" Questioned the brunette as he tried to remedy the situation with calming words.

"The rock that led into the base had no pokemon atop it. While the others did."

Her answer was accompanied by even more frustration. Brendan could only sweat a little in nervousness. Not a single rock had any pokemon on them, at all.

Admittedly, Aquarius was also becoming nervous around her frustrated trainer.

"Maybe we should just dive to find it?" Inquired Brendan.

Sighing, Erica accepted her boyfriend's suggestion.

"Give me a moment, we'll go underwater first to find it."

Brendan didn't answer immediately. He was currently occupied with a thought that was going through his mind about stopping the meteoroid.

'That thing's gonna destroy all of Hoenn, how am I gonna stop it?' The sheer scope of what he was dealing with literally paralyzed him from doing anything else.

"Brendan-kun?" Aqua noticed his partner's paralysis and punched him to get him out of it.

"Yeah, I gotcha!" Yelled the boy as he got back above the surface. Erica nodded, put on the necessary equipment, and submerged underwater with her pokemon.

As he mounted back onto his partner, Brendan had to kick himself in the back for being stunned like that. The earlier resolve to defend his region as the champion was halted by a single thought.

Unconsciously furrowing his eyebrows, he silently made an vow to not let himself be easily distracted like that again.

Making such a promise reminded him of when Zinnia had prevented her capture earlier by criticizing the operation. Her unpredictable behavior seemed to allow her out of dangerous situations.

'Now that I think about it, that was pretty odd of her to go exactly where we were. Did she know that we'd be there or-'

"Ok, found it." Brendan's thoughts were interrupted by his girlfriend's voice.

Erica's head was poking above the water, which was something of a humorous sight. She waved for him to follow her.

The protagonist slipped on his goggles and put in his oxygen tank before diving underwater.

Being underwater again, they had to admit that it was calming. Brendan saw it as more calming than Erica did at the moment.

'We've been wrapped up in so many conflicts that it's been really hard to enjoy the region.' Thought the boy. 'We've really got to take some time to explore better places after this is over.'

Erica moved her head around and pointed towards an entrance. Having her boyfriend's attention, she directed both him and Aquarius into the gaping hole.

Brendan's first thoughts upon breaking the surface was the odd design of Team Aqua's base. To him, it was the complete opposite of Team Magma's base.

"Were they trying to go for the environment-friendly look?" Joked the brunette as he walked onto the surface.

Erica chuckled a little at that. Seeing as that was exactly what she thought during her infiltration. "Probably."

"Alright you guys should get some rest." Said Brendan to the water pokemon. "I get a feeling that we'll have some upcoming fights later."

That statement was more vague than he had intended it to be. Brendan was referring to the high possibility of encountering Zinnia in the near future.

But, mistakenly, Aqua and Aquarius (wow, just realized the similarity) thought that he was referring to battling through Team Aqua. Mixing that in with the prior assaults from Zinnia only solidified worry.

Being concerned, they refused to return to the pokeballs when Brendan and Erica attempted to do so. Such reluctance was easy to notice.

"Are? What's wrong with you guys?" Asked Brendan. "Do you want to stay out and get some more exercise?"

"I don't think so." Noted Erica as Aquarius approached her. "Their probably just concerned about us. We are in Aqua's base after all."

"Oh, is that what's bothering you buddy?" He leaned down to his partner who nodded in response.

"Well, don't worry about us. I'm sure that we'll be fine." Reassured the brunette with a confident grin. Which did well in calming the Swampert.

Somehow Brendan felt doubt in himself despite his friend's cooperation. After returning Aqua to his pokeball, the boy narrowed his eyes with a defeated expression.

Erica convinced Aquarius of her assured safety as well before retrieving the water serpent. She was about to proceed into the base but stopped when noticing her boyfriend's expression.

"Is something wrong? You don't look alright."

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm totally fine." Lied Brendan. "Anyway, lets go find Archie."

'You baka, I know all too well that something's bothering you.' She watched him from behind as he walked on. 'But I also know that you're focused on saving the region.'

Walking through the corridors of the base, Brendan couldn't ignore the fact that it was similar to Magma's headquarters.

If it wasn't for the entrance or the blue shade all around, he would've easily mistaken it for the other base.

"You know, for guys who used to be enemies, Maxie and Archie sure have the same tastes." Noted the brunette.

"Really? Team Magma's base looks just like this?" Brendan nodded to that.

"Yep, but replace water with lava and blue with red. And the people wore thick hoods."

On cue an Aqua grunt walked in, which made a noticeable contrast with the design that Brendan just described. Believing that they were now welcome for saving the world, both protagonists approached the grunt.

If only it was that easy.

Instead of being welcoming or even remotely friendly, the grunt immediately led a Corphish into view.

"Corphish, use bubblebeam!" Yelled the man almost frantically. The water crab did as instructed and attacked the visitors.

"Woah, calm down man!" Insisted Brendan as he took some of the attack. "We just want to talk to Archie!"

"Yeah, you and the rest of the world! Everyone wants a piece of us now!" That retort flew in quickly.

Obviously, the calm approach wouldn't work with this guy. Deciding hastily, Brendan sent out Apato to clear their way through this.

"Use seed bomb!" The Breloom launched the spores on his tail and nailed the water type easily. "There is literally no point to this, so take us to your leader."

"No way! I won't allow you to. It's not our leader's fault!"

That last note didn't really make too much sense to Brendan because of the fact that he didn't mention anything like blame.

Luckily, Erica picked up on it very quickly. Her earlier encounter with the Magma grunt about Courtney led her to the same conclusion about Matt.

"Look we understand that, but-"

"And we certainly don't allow people of low standards like you!" The blonde had been quickly interrupted while being pointed out.

"What do you mean low standards?! Brendan-kun isn't bad!" Retorted the girl with a somewhat angry expression. "And I train my pokemon very well!"

"I'm not talking about that! I mean that even we of Team Aqua don't walk around with such messy horrible hair and wrinkly faces. Have some decency!"

Instincts of a good boyfriend kicked in and caused Brendan to get angry. Even though his relationship with Erica was short thus far, he still didn't like anyone talking about her image; much less insulting it.

Dismissing all logic and reason for a moment, he prepared to lunge forward at the grunt himself. But he could feel a rising amount of heat that diverted his attention.

Erica's hair was naturally blonde and her eyes a pure gray. So it was scary they were turning red with anger.

"You...have no...idea...WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!" Yelled the blonde at the grunt.

Said person instantly began to shrink as the girl continued to rant about how angry she was.

Having been on the receiving end of her anger before, Brendan could only imagine how that guy felt at the moment (if he felt anything at all).

Empathy demanded him to go forward and try to calm his girlfriend, but he along with Apato and Corphish couldn't move at all.

Erica's yelling rants went on for about a straight minute before she finally calmed down. "Now will you tell us where Archie is? He knows us."

"Y-yes...boss is at...t-the docking bay..." Uttered the Aqua member who was somehow still conscious.

"Alright, come on Brendan-kun. We've got no time to waste." Insisted the blonde.

While the command was easily heard, it wasn't met immediately. Predictably Brendan was frozen in place after watching his girlfriend's episode. "H-hai, Erica-chan."

Quickly apologizing for his companion's explosion, Brendan along with Apato caught up with Erica to follow down the corridors of Aqua's base.

The thought of halting them must've been absent in the minds of the other Team Aqua members. That or they heard the scream of the angry blonde.

Finding the docking bay took a little longer than either trainer wanted. This was mostly due to the agonizingly complicated warp pad room. But after a good ten minutes they succeeded in locating Archie. Casual surprise was the given response to their sudden arrival.

"Well, if it ain't the scamps. I assume that you want to persecute us as well?"

"Uh...that means blame right?" Responded Brendan curiously. "Forget that. We're here because Erica-chan has something she wants to talk about."

With curiosity, the leader took on a look that demanded immediate cooperation. This succeeded in making the girl a little nervous.

"Right. I would like to know why your subordinate is running around and causing so much trouble."

Archie sighed, leaned over the rail, and looked down at the water below. Obviously, he had mixed opinions about this matter.

"Matt is a really dependable guy. He always aided us in our mission to revive Kyogre and return the world to its beginnings."

'I'd call that passion.' Thought Brendan while listening to the explanation.

"He must've wanted the operation to go through even more than I did. Probably cares for pokemon even more too." Noted the man as he looked down to the water and see Carvana playing with Chinchou nonviolently.

Archie's look had changed from a controversially confused one to an expression of empathy. This transfer struck a chord with Brendan.

The admin had acted on his own beliefs and probably disobeyed his own leaders orders. Though, in spite of that, said leader seemed somewhat concerned for him. Thinking of this actually reminded Brendan of his old conflict with his father.

"I wish I could do more to get him back to us. But he is making it too hard. You two are trying to stop him?"

Erica nodded to that question. "We've got a lot of problems to deal with right now and his actions are one of them."

"Then you'll have to beat him. That guy is so passionate that it takes a real load to put him down."

Brendan responded by slamming his palm into his fist. An action that wasn't unnoticed and seemed to break the serious mood of the situation.

"Literally, no problem with us. My pokemon and I can take him down easy." Stated the brunette.

"Brendan-kun, you're really something else." Laughed Erica before she turned back to Archie and pulled out the meteoroid.

Archie was momentarily started after seeing that, and for good reason. That little rock had enough potential to shut down a giant volcano, so it wasn't without multiple uses.

However, the startle was still momentary. Probably because Team Aqua had many other methods of collecting energy.

"Ah, so you had that all along." Commented the man as he rubbed his beard. "And I thought that my Sharpedo ate it."

"We'll just ignore that and move onto my big question. Is it possible to split this thing?" Inquired the blonde.

After hearing that, the information clicked together in Brendan's head. Much thought was placed into this idea because it would save time looking for another shard in meteorite falls. Professor Cozmo only said that they'd need a certain shaped meteorite.

Simply trying to reshape this one would be so much easier than trying to shoot in the dark to find a new one.

'Wow! Erica-chan is so smart.' Thought the brunette.

Basing her assumption off of the occurences that she has been through today, Erica believed that the process was going to be taxing but worth it.

Which only added surprise when Archie began to laugh robustly.

"Har har har! Well scamp, I'm not as smart as Maxie, but I know that would cause a huge explosion of energy if you tried. I doubt there'd be any left even if you didn't die."

Flinching and sweating showed that Brendan and Erica were not expecting an answer like that. Not in the least did they expect a massive explosion to be the end result.

"Whew, we dodged a bullet there." Sighed the brunette in nervous exhaustion.

His girlfriend could only nod a little in response. Even though the event didn't happen, she felt like they had continued and caused the explosion anyway.

Certainly, it was a thought that could paralyze somebody who didn't have the intentions for it.

"Well, if that's all you scamps need from me, please leave. I've got some important things to tend to." Said Archie as he beat his chest for emphasis

Such a gesture of manliness was only met with some chuckles by the teenagers. The blue man started to feel a little more blue. But Brendan then noticed something very peculiar, something that he didn't immediately catch onto earlier.

Archie wasn't wearing his anchor with the keystone.

When this thought came to full conscious realization, it immediately raised a lot of questions in the protagonist's mind. It could've easily been interpreted as an act of repentance for awakening Kyogre, but a more plausible answer came to mind.

"Did some girl steal your keystone?" Asked Brendan.

"...How did you know?" Said the man in response; confirming the suspicion.

Brendan's eyebrows furrowed as his conflicting thoughts about Zinnia rose up in his head. Once again, she had taken somebody's keystone. But it could've been an act of self-proclaimed justice.

Answering was appropriate, but he just struggled to much to do so. Having a girlfriend made it easier though.

"We've run into her several times already." Explained Erica. "She's been snatching the keystones of others as well."

"Well, I feel sorry for those whom she as already struck down. But it is even more problematic for us here."

That remark came across as self-concerning. It actually irritated Brendan to the point that he couldn't tolerate it in a matter of seconds.

"Look, I understand if you've got problems with your friend, but she is causing problems for more than just you." Said the brunette, calmly releasing his aggression.

"No no, you don't get it scamp. She used to work for us. That's the problem that's concerning."

The surprise that decorated the teenagers' faces was only something that could only be seen in a manga. Although it was a revelation about Zinnia, it raised more questions as well.

More complications arose when Brendan put this together with the fact that she wore a Team Magma uniform.

'Did she work for both teams?' Thought the confused boy.

"Why was she working for you?" Asked Erica eagerly.

"She was giving us information on Kyogre's whereabouts and reversion." Answered Archie.

Once again, this raised more questions than answers. Zinnia's image was now more malevolent than before because of her contribution to the awakening the primal pokemon. Now the notion that she could've been enacting justice upon Aqua and Magma was called into question.

All this confusion gave Brendan a headache. To top it off, he still had to deal with the meteoroid and needed to find a perfectly shaped meteorite.

"Well, I know that we've got a lot on our hands right now, but we'll get your keystone back to you." Promised Brendan.

Initially, the Aqua leader had a neutral expression to this promise. But he put up a grin and lightly hit Brendan in the chest.

"Ya got a big heart, scamp."

A feeling of accomplishment spread throughout Brendan and mended his headache.

With the discussion finished, Brendan and Erica decided to take their leave and return to Meteor Falls. Once they got back to the entrance, the former prepared to venture underwater first. However, the latter decided to pry into something first.

"Hold on, I want to talk to you about something before we head back." Said Erica, stopping Brendan from going under.

"Ok, what's up?"

"What was bothering you earlier? You seemed really distracted and depressed."

Both surprisingly and expectedly Brendan showed some reluctance to discuss the issue. A subconscious sense of pride for the male gender prevented him from saying so.

"Nothing was wrong."

Even he knew that wouldn't work. And his girlfriend's expression proved that she saw right through it.

"Baka. I know your lying." Erica scowled a little at her boyfriend's lie.

It was intimidating but that scowl soon turned into a look of hurt and sympathy. "I'm worried about you. Can you please tell me what's wrong?"

The eyes of pure sympathy pierced right through the brunette's subconscious pride. He knew that there was literally no way around it now.

"Well...I just don't feel that good. I'm supposed to be the Hoenn champion; but I've been kidnapped, and I've had trouble focusing on protecting the region."

Erica could understand that. Once that status is reached, it tends to weigh the holders down. She leaned in and embraced him to act comforting.

"I understand your concerns. But don't forget that you're only one person. You can make mistakes." Whispered the girl.

"Yeah, but shouldn't I be able to handle this? Zinnia's got everything under control."

Dislodging herself from him, Erica tried to think of a good argumentative response.

Though Aqua did the job for her by splashing Brendan really hard. Needless to say he was surprised by it.

"Hey! What was that for Aqua?!" Yelled the slightly irritated brunette. He got laughter in response from Erica. "What's so funny?"

To answer, the water-ground type got out of the water and punched his trainer in the arm. Obviously, it hurt; but it hurt only a little for Brendan. Though somewhat sincere and brotherly, Brendan couldn't interpret it beyond that.

His Swampert didn't give up after that. Aqua slowly held his fist out in front of his trainer with a patient expression.

It was then that Brendan finally understood the message that was being relayed to him. With trust and reassurance, he leaned his fist into Aqua's.

"Thanks for reminding me buddy." He went over to Erica and pecked her on the cheek. "You too Erica-chan."

"Just don't forget, we're going to be there for you."

'I'm not going to have to bear this by myself. I've got pokemon, friends, and Erica-chan.'

Time was of the essence, so the two decided to quickly make it back to Meteor Falls. Erica herself felt somewhat disappointed in herself for the wrongly thinking that they could split the meteorite.

Probably would've been the equivalent of splitting an atom.

Because their last expedition failed, they decided to split up to double the progress. Sadly, their efforts didn't really yield anything promising for them.

"Damn! You'd think that we'd be able to find at least something!" Cursed Brendan as he and Dokuro were turning stones up for anything.

All of the pokemon were pitching in the effort, but that still didn't prove too much for them. At that point the constant sound of waterfalls was starting to annoy Brendan.

That was until his pokenav started to ring. The promise of anything away from this fruitless task would be appreciated by the brunette.

 _"Brendan? Do you hear me?"_ It was Steven who was calling from the other side. He seemed distressed.

"Steven? Yeah, I hear you. Is something wrong?"

 _"We've got trouble. My father called in and told us that the Devon Corp. building might be under attack!"_

Dokuro overheard that and flinched at such a thought. Her trainer also exhibited much of the same suprrise, but it deepened into what could be described as fiercely determined seriousness. Possibly even anger.

"I got it Steven, we're on our way there now." Whispered the brunette in calm tone.

He cut off the transmission before anything else could be said and looked around to all of his pokemon.

"I know that I'm rushing you guys today, but the survival of everyone in this region is resting on us. Please, try to bear through it with me."

Dokuro bobbed her head up and down to show her loyalty to Brendan. Apato pumped his fists, eager for whatever battle comes next. Natsumi and Rin looked towards each other before nodding and giving their trainer confirming expressions. Aqua smiled and punched Brendan's shoulder again.

'I think it goes without saying, but we're right behind you, partner.' Said Latios.

Confidence brimmed in his mind. Brendan knew that they couldn't lose. That they would succeed in saving the region from what is to come.

"Ikuzo!"

Far to the East of Hoenn, the sky began to clap with thunder and darken. Although not a result of the oncoming meteoroid, it was certainly ominous. But, amidst all the dark and sound, a green blur slipped through the clouds.

Those who would be fortunate enough to see this would feel something vital for this crisis; hope.

 **10 hours, 5 minutes and 47 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter; I hope you liked it. And I apologize that there wasn't too much battling in previous chapters. But trust me when I say that there will be battles. As always, please review, favorite, follow, or you could do all three.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go watch Matthew Santoro. Dude is awesome.


	7. Chapter 7

,Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Otherwise we'd put a prank about MissingNo somewhere in future games. I also don't own Bleach.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

'I'm almost there! Just got to get to the exit!'

A scientist of the Devon Corporation rushed down the hallways of the building frantically. His adrenaline rush could've been attributed to the predicament involving a certain piece of rock in orbit.

Well, it was loosely connected to that.

Scrambling as fast as his legs would go, the scientist made his way out of the building. Adjusting his glasses revealed a face of pure relief.

"I-I made it. Now I need t-"

The moments of freedom were short lived as he was quickly pinned down to the ground by a Mightyena.

"C'mon doc. Did you really think that you were going to get far away?" Taunted a voice from behind.

Struggling to get back up, the scientist could clearly see the four members of Team Magma that had pursued him. Lack of athleticism against radical determination proved to be his downfall in a literal sense.

"Alright. If you would be so kind as to hand over the device. Miss Courtney would appreciate it." Said one of the grunts.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. We're certainly not developing anything important right now!"

"But we saw you leave with something that looked important."

Cooperation obviously wasn't being earned, so they took the more direct approach. Specifically, they raided his lab coat and pulled out a purple box with several metal protrusions. It appeared to be part of a bigger contraption.

The increased amount of perspiration on the scientist's face confirmed that that was what they were looking for.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Now I think that I'll deliver this to Miss Courtney." Proclaimed one of the grunts before leaving with the device.

"No don't! We need that!" Begged the scientist as he struggled to get off of the ground.

"You've been getting on my nerves. Sick 'em, Mightyena!"

Rearing its head up, the dark hound prepared to bite down on the defenseless man. He prepared for the inevitable pain to come.

However, that pain didn't come at all. Instead a slightly larger Mightyena tackled the other into the ground.

"That's enough out of you guys!"

Before anyone else could fully comprehend the surprise attack, Brendan dropkicked the grunt whom he assumed was the trainer.

"Who are you?!" Asked one of the grunts that wasn't kicked.

Rin jumped back to her trainer's side and imitated his intimidating glare. "Brendan Kobushi. My pokemon and I are gonna beat you guys!"

That name seemed to have some significance to the grunts. They expressed some hate with hints of fear after Brendan introduced himself. Perhaps word of his actions against Maxie's campaign had spread quickly.

Erica soon appeared on the scene accompanied by Hanatoro. The cool pose that her boyfriend was focused in was quickly broken just by her nonchalant arrival.

"I understand that you're really focused on this task, but you could've slowed down a little." Noted the girl with an exhausted expression.

"Sorry about that Erica-chan. I'll make sure to pay you back for it later." Apologized the boy as he lost his stance.

Being told that reminded her that she still owed him for her erroneous assumption. It seemed that they were now even on that issue.

"Hey!" Said the guy that Brendan kicked. "You can't just drop kick someone like that with no warning!"

"Yeah? Well, you can't just attack somebody who can't fight back!" Retorted the brunette quickly. Though he immediately noticed that said person had disappeared.

'What? Where'd he go?' Thought the brunette angrily.

Repeatedly having to run around the entire region is enough to make anyone irritated, but Brendan was starting to lose his cool entirely. However, a good pokemon battle always was relieving for him and his pokemon.

Perhaps beating some random members of Team Magma was just what they needed.

"So you guys are gonna try to stop us?" Questioned one of the grunts.

"No. We are going to stop you." Proclaimed Erica. Her face clearly indicated that she had literally no doubt about it.

"Good luck because it's three against one!" The grunts either didn't know about Erica beating Archie or just placed quantity over quality.

Brendan had to put in some effort to hold back laughing at that claim. 'Yeah. I would've thought the same thing a while ago.'

The other grunts released a Magcargo and a Muk. The two pokemon instinctively rushed towards Hantoro. Size was the judging factor in that decision.

"Mightyena, use rock smash!"

The smaller dark hound rammed its head into Rin with the intent of utilizing type advantage.

"Rin, use crunch!" Said Brendan.

Rin grabbed the back of her opponent with her jaws through minimal effort. And, with a display of impressive strength, she hurled the other Mightyena away.

It appeared that a large amount of damage was inflicted as a result because Mightyena yelped as it hit the ground.

"But how? Fighting type moves are supposed to be supereffective against dark types!" Argued the grunt as he realized the absurdity.

Laughter was the response that was inappropriately elicited from Brendan. Part of his brain felt sorry for the opponent, but the other half felt happy about how far he and his pokemon had come.

"Sorry. You guys aren't going to win this match."

On the other side of the battle, it appeared that the other two grunts weren't having any better luck. Go figure.

Despite the doubled efforts, Magcargo and Muk literally had no much better luck to inflict damage together than either would have alone. Hanatoro was graceful in dodging the oncoming attacks.

"Muk, use sludge bomb!"

"Magcargo, use flamethrower!"

Both seemingly liquid pokemon launched their attacks that were both effective against grass types and had same type attack boosts.

"Dance up a petal blizzard."

As the attacks came close to him, Hanatoro attacked with petal blizzard. His flurry of petals redirected both attacks into each other. The results were an artistic flare and damage to the other two pokemon.

The red grunts could only grit their teeth in utter frustration. Fire or poison alone should've been enough to deal with a grass type, so adding them together should've made it even easier.

"Just give it up. There really is no point to this." Sighed Erica. "Plus, Hanatoro is already a poison type. Your Muk doesn't have that much over it."

Acting like her trainer, Hanatoro refused to even make eye contact with Muk and Magcargo. This lack of interest only succeeded in further agitation.

"Oh Yeah? You're just bluffing! Muk, use sludge wave!"

Following through with that command with no reluctance, the blob pokemon spat out a massive wave of sludge that covered the ground.

Hanatoro couldn't avoid it due to the wide range and ended up taking some damage.

"Yes! Magcargo, use flamethrower!" Said the other grunt with some enthusiasm and ignorance to the fact that his pokemon got hit by the attack too.

Seizing the momentary opportunity, the fire snail unleashed the jet stream of fire that directly hit Hanatoro. Actual effort was put in by the grass-poison type as he was fighting against the burn.

"Don't let it get to you Hanatoro! Use sunny day!" Encouraged Erica while she was shielding herself from the heat.

A reaction of pure surprise and bafflement came from the opposing side. Surely using sunny day would only make it easier to take down the grass pokemon with fire.

Regardless, the Roserade summoned brighter sunlight than before. Now it seemed that merely two more hits from Magcargo would finish him, but Erica was far better than that.

"Now use synthesis."

Raising his flower hands in the air, Hanatoro restored every bit of energy that he had lost thus far. Aside from his burn, he was completely healed. This sudden turn of events placed surprise and paralysis in the opposing side.

Which Erica gladly took advantage of. "Use façade!"

Pushing through his current physical and emotional pain, Hanatoro leapt forward and slammed his opponents with practically all of his might.

'Sorry that you had to damage your cape buddy. I'll fix it later.' Thought the girl as she was aware of her pokemon's self-image.

Because of the effects of façade, Muk was quickly defeated by the masquerade pokemon.

"Crap! Magcargo, use flamethrower!"

The proximity of the Roserade and the Magcargo gave little time for the fire to travel. Thus leading to Hanatoro being engulfed in the flames yet again. But that didn't last nearly long enough as the flames were penetrated by a solarbeam attack powerful enough to defeat the fire slug.

Hanatoro emerged from the flames striking a pose of elegance despite the fact that his cape was still black on the end.

The grunts couldn't say anything in response to this completely stunning battle. "Stun Spore."

Seizing the opportunity, the Roserade leapt over and sprinkled the yellow dust over the Magma grunts. Erica walked over to her pokemon and kneeled down to him.

"Well, can't say that I didn't warn them." Said the girl before beginning to help with the cape.

On Brendan's side of the battlefield, his match was progressing just as similarly as his girlfriend's was.

"Mightyena, use take down!" Commanded the grunt with stress clearly on his face.

"Rin, you do the same." Said the brunette with a calm attitude.

Charging, the dark hounds rammed into each other; Rin managed to overpower her opponent again with sheer force.

"H-how?" Questioned the grunt as he looked down to his defeated pokemon.

Shrugging his shoulders was the best response that Brendan could give at the moment. A happy smile was evidence that he was really enjoying this.

"I could tell you, but I feel like we have to keep it a secret." Answered the boy with some signs of relaxation.

However, despite the clear abundant differences between the two, the Magma grunt refused to give up at all. He exchanged the fallen Mightyena for a Weezing on the battle field.

A playful sigh escaped Brendan's lips as he noticed his pokemon getting excited. 'Looks like we needed this.'

"Weezing, use smog!" The gaseous pokemon released filthy gases unto the dark type.

"Quick attack, Rin!"

Utilizing her agility, the Mightyena rushed past the gases and slammed into Weezing. Being sent backwards irritated the floating poison type.

"Use sludge!"

Rin flinched as she was almost instantly covered in a sludge that stung. Her head was shaking to get the sludge off of her face.

Brendan noticed this irritation from his pokemon and tried to think of a method to get it off of her. Concern for his partner took the wheel, and he rushed forward to wipe some of it off himself.

This momentary pause was used by the grunt to quickly heal his Weezing.

"Ok. Maybe I'm not thinking this through enough." Said Brendan to which his Mightyena barked angrily. "No, I'm positive that you can do this. Its just-"

His train of thought was quickly interrupted when he noticed that the sunlight had increased. It actually made him sweat somewhat. He quickly figured out that this was caused by a pokemon using sunny day.

An excited grin appeared on his face as he realized what that meant.

"Alright Rin. I've got an idea. Think you're up for it?" She initially showed boredom in response. "Don't worry. You'll get to show off your strength."

A happy and accepting bark came from the dark type and was followed by her jumping back to a battle position. Her trainer reciprocated her enthusiasm with his own excitement.

The event that transpired before the grunt were certainly peculiar. Enough to make him question whether or not Brendan was the Hoenn Champion, if he knew it. But he shrugged the awkwardness aside to fight.

"Weezing, use sludge again!" Commanded the grunt.

Repeating the previous action, the poison type vomited the attack out at Rin again. She took the attack but remained patient for her trainer's command.

"Rin, use crunch attack!" Instructed the brunette.

Feeling the invigoration of combat, she darted forward and sunk her fangs into Weezing. The two heads of the poison pokemon wailed in pain at such a powerful attack.

"And now use fire fang!" While still biting down on her opponent, Rin ignited her fangs and succeeded in causing an enormous amount of damage.

"Use sludge attack!" Commanded the grunt frustratingly, but his pokmeon failed to do such. It was caught flinching in pain at Rin's attack combo.

Feeling satisfied with overpowering without the help of Natsumi or any other pokemon, Rin tossed Weezing into the air. Her display of immense strength was even more than her trainer estimated.

'I guess that Rin likes to show off.' Thought the brunette with a mix of pride and nervousness.

However, no other emotions other than frustration were coming from the Magma grunt. All of which was noticed by the brunette.

"Dude, you are seriously just better off giving up here." Stated hero with a lax tone.

Hearing the sound of leather gloves tightening only reminded Brendan of the obvious. But what he didn't anticipate was the sudden nervous grin from his opponent.

'Does he have some interesting attack planned?' Thought Brendan hopefully.

"I can't allow Team Magma to be mocked again!" Proclaimed the grunt loudly, almost desperately. "Weezing, use explosion!"

Brendan's hope for a better battle was instantly dashed from him as he looked up to the poison type. Witnessing this move in battle would be a first for him, though it wasn't something that he was eager to see.

Bad became worse when he realized the location of their battle.

'We're still next to the Devon building, there are too many people in there!'

Available options were limited down to two. Brendan could get Rin to rush into Weezing and cover the explosion or do it himself.

Swallowing down his inhibitions to pain and realizing it as his mistake, he chose the latter.

Without a shred of fear, he jumped upwards towards the poison gas pokemon. Time began to dilate as he approached the now shining pokemon, a clear sign of its imminent explosion.

Such light only began to shine brighter as he got even closer to it; another sign, but one that indicated that he wouldn't make it in time to stop it.

'No!'

But suddenly, much to the surprise of everyone present, a stray flamethrower attack quickly engulfed Weezing. The poison type fainted as a result and couldn't continue the explosion.

Brendan's perception of time returned to normal, and he plummeted to the ground with no grace whatsoever.

"I suppose that an apology is in order. That method was probably too rash." Said the voice of a familiar newcomer.

Looking up, Brendan found that it was Maxie who had entered the scene along with his Camerupt.

"M-Maxie? What are you doing here?" Asked the boy surprisingly.

Instead of providing an immediate answer, the red-haired man adjusted his glasses. "It is nice to see you as well, Brendan."

Although that was a greeting, Brendan could feel that it was some kind of passive insult. Perhaps an indirect method for the Magma Leader to express his distaste for losing or Brendan's irresponsibility towards the situation.

But the boy wouldn't ignore the fact that without him showing up there would've been a body count.

"Well, thanks for helping us out." Said the protagonist as he got back up. "But seriously, why are you here?"

Once again, Brendan wasn't given a direct answer like he would've preferred. However, it was Tabitha who arrived and chose to give an decent synopsis.

"Boss Maxie and I came here after Steven alerted us to the presence of rogue Team Magma members." Explained the obese man.

"Wait. Steven told you? How did he know what your number was?" Asked the confused brunette.

"We might've been an undercover organization, but we're also a respected business." Answered Maxie as he pushed up his glasses again..

The next few minutes passed by with Tabitha rounding up the grunts and Brendan and Erica healing their pokemon. Hanatoro was acting upset because of his cape being burnt while Rin was satisfied about her match.

"Calm down Hanatoro. I'll make sure to clean it up later." Insisted the blonde with a patient smile, one which persuaded her pokemon.

Brendan smiled at his girlfriend's behavior. He was also happy because they were able to enjoy such a fight. Almost letting the building get destroyed didn't weigh him down at all.

It was just as Zinnia said, a good fi-

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he remembered what happened at the Magma base. And, at the same time, Archie's mention of her affiliation rose to Brendan's consciousness too.

"Maxie," He got up and earned the attention of the red-haired man. "Did you have a member by the name of Zinnia?"

Hearing that name, Maxie's eyes widened with immediate surprise. It was a clear sign that he was familiar with it.

"She used to work as a member of Team Magma." Answered the man nonchalantly in an effort to cover his previous surprise.

Erica, who could clearly overhear the conversation, assumed that she must've worked with both teams for the same reasons. The possibility that neither Maxie nor Archie knew of her double agent activity wasn't too farfetched at the moment either.

'Just what else are you hiding?'

Though, in spite of the many revelations, Brendan couldn't shake the scarcity of Zinnia's appearances amongst Magma and Aqua.

"How exactly did she work with you? We never encountered her with the other grunts before." Noted the boy.

"Zinnia didn't work on the field, she gave us information concerning the location of Groudon." Answered the analytical man. His eyebrows twitched at the memory of his old ambitions.

The perception that Brendan had must've improved because he noticed that involuntary movement and deduced the reasoning fairly quickly.

Additionally, seeing this drew his attention to another detail. Maxie was wearing a different pair of glasses, one that didn't include a keystone.

'She already got to him.' Thought the brunette.

Now it was obvious what Zinnia had done and what she was doing. She couldn't be seeking justice against Team Magma and Team Aqua since she aided in their ambitious actions.

The mystery of her actions only deepened with the fact that she was stealing keystones. It was fairly obvious that she already had one but didn't use it.

'Erica-chan was right then. Zinnia was holding back in that first fight.' Thought Brendan.

"There's something else we need to know if you have the moment for it." Said Erica as she joined in on the conversation.

No immediate rejection of the request was given. So she took that as affirmation, though Maxie kept his stern face.

"Why exactly did she work for you? Her current actions don't seem to line up with your previous goals at all."

Sighing, Maxie looked back at his Camerupt, Tabitha, and his several subordinates that they had reaquired. The sun, which had looked so threatening in his moment of failure, seemed so inspiring and life giving in the blue sky.

He turned back to Brendan and Erica to give an appropriate answer.

"I don't know, to be honest. But I can say that she had always intended to betray me." Answered Maxie. "We were aware of that early on but didn't view her as threatening enough."

Such an answer didn't clear any foggy thoughts about the problem at hand, though it didn't cause anymore enigmatic questions to arise either. Well, except for one that Brendan had chosen to keep on his mind.

'Why is she going through all of this effort? Whatever it is she's aiming for it must be big.'

"Is it over? Is it safe now?"

Everyone turned their attention to the employee from earlier as he peered around from the building. Admittedly, Brendan had completely forgotten about that man.

'Oops.' He had also chosen to overlook the rude behavior to hide from the battle.

"Yes. Everything has been over for about three minutes." Explained Erica; she was placing emphasis on the amount of time passed.

Her passive scolding was ignored by the scientist as he quickly rushed over to the grunts that Tabitha was lecturing to.

"Alright, now which one of you has it?!" Asked the scientist quickly and impatiently.

"What did they take?" Questioned Brendan.

"The dimensional shifter. It is a key component for the link cable process!"

Not one of the them dared to provide an answer. However, the glares from the scientist and Brendan seemed to melt some of that resolve.

"Our accomplice has taken it to Courtney." Admitted one of the grunts.

Both protagonists heard that and perked up surprisingly. The earlier hunch about the wormhole project was realized. And now that the key for it was stolen and in the hands of vigilante extremists; only the worse could happen.

Making matters even worse, they had not even the slightest idea where Courtney would have the device taken to.

But that didn't stop Brendan from trying brainstorm for an answer. This only resulted in giving himself a headache, much to his chagrin.

"Where is he taking it to?"

The brunette was broken out of his thoughts as Tabitha was interrogating the grunts for answers. Surprisingly, his face didn't show intimidation.

Somehow Brendan interpreted that as patience. Which made sense given that those guys were still wearing Magma's uniform.

"We can't say. We've sworn to secrecy so that the project will be finished." Retorted one of the grunts solemnly.

His response was wearing the patience of the Magma admin. Then Maxie stepped forward to continue the questioning.

"You should know by now that we can't push everything forward without Groudon's power." Said the leader. "Even if we gain a similar power, we already know the consequences of doing such."

As Maxie continued his lecture, he began to capture more attention from Brendan as he listened. He was already aware of this Maxie's current philosophy, but seeing it practiced was a different experience.

To the boy, this was an enjoyable sight to see. Honest proof that people can change and turn over a new leaf.

"I don't know what Courtney has planned, but I am sure that it won't improve anything." Promised the red leader.

Verbal retorts or even responses weren't given from the grunts. Whether it was being lectured by Maxie himself, or the content of his words, they couldn't really argue.

"S-she's going to the space center." Answered one of the grunts reluctantly.

'What? We have to go all the way back there?!' Thought Brendan irritatingly.

There was logical reasoning to this. To take the device to where it would be used so that they could utilize it. But it was still mentally exhausting that they'd have to go all the way back there.

This stress didn't go unnoticed by a certain Mightyena. Affectionate rubbing from Rin seemed to calm her trainer.

"Yeah girl. I know." Said Brendan in response before turning to Erica. "Looks like we're heading back there."

"Empty handed too. Oh well." Sighed the blonde girl.

The two trainers turned to leave the scene, but the main protagonist was halted by Maxie before he could do so.

"Wait." He stopped once he heard that. "There is something that I must request of you."

Brendan felt a little awkward towards this. But he had a feeling that this would be important.

"Is it about your friend?" Asked the brunette, which was answered with a nod.

"Yes. I would like to go and aide you in this predicament. But that might hinder your progress. Just tell Courtney what I told them, and tell her that I sent you."

A quick nod from the boy signified that he accepted the task, even if he couldn't interpret the choice of words. He and Erica then started to run towards Mossdeep city. Time was of the essence.

With them gone, Maxie regretted not mentioning one last thing to Brendan's face.

'Something about that child...he has charisma that can change others...'

To make haste and arrive as quickly as possible, the two got out the eon twins for flight.

'I'm really sorry about all the flying that you have to do today Latias.' Apologized Erica to her pokemon.

'It's no problem. Besides, I'm supposed to be a guardian of Hoenn. I can't ignore this.' Said the red dragon with a cheery tone.

Gratefulness was what Erica had to give to her partner. She turned back to Brendan to see that he was wearing his Go-Go Goggles which made it hard to see his eyes. But he could clearly see her intrigued expression.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Brendan.

"No. You just look less tense now. I guess that you really needed that." Answered the girl with a grin.

In return, Brendan smiled back to show that he was happy as well. That sunny day combination was certainly exhilarating for him. Adding in the fact that sunny day came from Erica and Hanatoro made it even more fun for him.

Due to how easily they had dealt with those grunts at the Devon Corp. building, he felt that taking on whatever Courtney had in store for them would be a cakewalk.

'And then we have to go back and find another shard.' Thinking about returning to Meteor Falls again left the brunette exhausted already.

'But if we can find it, then it will be the last time that we need to.'

Their brief time in the sky came to an end as the group landed in Mossdeep. Erica had anticipated that the entire city would be held hostage, so it was a surprise when everything was calm as when they had left earlier.

'They must be only after the space center.' Thought the girl.

They quickly entered the building of astrology to find exactly what they expected.

The waiting room looked severely damaged, possibly from some kind of battle. Brendan quickly picked up on some soaked areas.

'I'm guessing that other guy decided to show up as well.' Thought the boy.

Regardless of who was assaulting the area, it was obvious where they were going. Steven's assumed presence calmed the two down a little, but they still hurried to stop anything bad from happening at all.

The rush was suddenly halted by the unexpected arrival of five Aqua grunts.

"Dammit. Why do they appear now?!" Cursed Brendan at the appearance of this problem.

All five of the grunts sent out Mightyena for a horde battle. The thought to battle this was certainly tempting to the Hoenn champion, but he dismissed it quickly.

'No! Now isn't the time. But I guess that I've got no choice.' He reached down to his belt to pick a pokeball but was stopped by Erica.

"Don't worry Brendan-kun, we'll take care of things here. You go upstairs and help Steven." Insisted the girl.

Her demand caused him to widen a grin on his face. "Thanks Erica-chan." A peck on the cheek was given before he rushed around to the stairs.

"Hey, somebody stop him!" Yelled one of the grunts before Erica got in front of the staircase and pulled a pokeball.

"Oh come on. You guys aren't going to just leave yet are you?" Taunted the girl. "The fun is about to start."

Climbing up the stairs as quickly as he could, Brendan reached the hallway and entered the observatory. Once inside, he could clearly see Steven and his shiny Metagross with all of the scientists behind him.

Some bruises and scrapes were clear signs that defending others wasn't easy. Adding in the fact that they were probably ganged up on made it easy to overlook such a disgraceful sight.

And, as one could easily predict, Matt and Courtney were also present and glaring at each other.

"Do you really think that you deserve to use that?! Only those who tried to save the world deserve to use it!" Yelled the stalwart.

"Of course we are...insolent fools aren't fit to use such powerful weapons..." Retorted the kuudere in a manner mixed between calmness and anger.

"Uh...excuse me?"

All eyes in the room turned towards Brendan, who seemed a little nervous to be in the spotlight. He was also a little underwhelmed by the predictability of the admins' behavior.

Steven sighed gratefully at the arrival of his successor. Focusing on the mega power was taxing on him, so his battling was rusty today.

"Which one of you has the important thing?" Asked the brunette casually, ignoring the angry glares he was being given. "We kind of need it to save Hoenn."

It was Courtney who approached him first and showed him the device that he requested. Brendan smiled because he saw this as meeting his demand.

"...Why should I give it to you...?" Asked the girl vehemently before retracting her hand.

The previously present smile on Brendan's face morphed into a slightly angry twitch. "Isn't it obvious? If we don't use it then everyone will die!"

Emphasis was placed highly on that last statement, a clear that the Hoenn Champion was loosing his patience quickly. Responding in her own quiet manner, the Team Magma admin turned back over to the display monitor.

'Is she planning on using it herself?' Asked Brendan to himself.

Glancing over to Matt revealed that he was also looking over to the screen as well. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing.

After about thirty seconds of that, she turned back towards Brendan. "...Just let Hoenn die..."

Any hope of peaceful negotiation instantly died upon that response. That wasn't unexpected though; the hero was aware of these two acting irrationally at times.

Gripping the device, the Magma Admin seemed prepared to let her plan go through entirely. That was until Matt came from behind her and grabbed her hand that had the dimensional shifter.

"Listen gal, you're not going to do that. I'm gonna." Proclaimed the burly man as he caused her to drop the device. "Ma bro, Archie, has been down after Kyogre was sealed back."

'Yeah. But it was for a good reason.' Thought Brendan while listening intently.

"Are you trying to tell me that everything that we did up until that point was for nothing? That rocket is full of plenty of mega evolution energy right?"

Steven flinched as he suspected where this was going.

"I'll set it off from here and destroy that meteoroid...and why not the rest of the world while we're at it? Who needs that damn thing?! I'll destroy the world myself and fulfill AZOTH!"

A hearty, and somewhat maniacal, laugh erupted from Matt. Something that didn't sit well with either Steven or Brendan. This didn't last as he was quickly interrupted as a Camerupt rammed into him, causing the dimensional shifter to fall back to the floor.

All of the scientists held their breath as it clanked on the floor and relaxed as it didn't break. Moments of relief were coming and going as Courtney picked it back up.

"...You think that you could accomplish that?...Destroying the world as you say is contradictory...Unlike I..." She then bore a twisted smile.

That sign of antisocial action didn't last long as Dokoro popped out of nowhere and snatched the device from her hand. Everyone in the room turned their eyes to Brendan as he got the device.

"I guess I understand that you don't want everything to go to waste. But your leaders are worried about you. They know that doing anything like what you guys did before won't change anything."

Breathing a little heavily after that, the protagonist hoped that he was reaching some level of understanding. No such luck. Matt drew a pokeball and Courtney redirected her Camerupt towards Brendan.

Each also revealed a keystone, presumably obtained from Meteor Falls.

"Guess this'll be a two-on-one?" Joked the brunette.

"No, I'll take on that Magma girl." Said Erica as she walked into the room.

"That was fast."

"You make it sound like they would be trouble."

The boy smirked at his girlfriend's joke before he and Dokuro were knocked back by a Sharpedo. The impact was powerful enough to send them out of the building.

Erica was concerned for Brendan, but she knew he could take care of himself and his pokemon. She released Amber to focus on the taking care of the kuudere.

'That was a sucker punch.' Thought Brendan as he got up to the water's surface. Apparently, Matt threw Sharpedo with enough force to send Dokoro and her trainer into the ocean outside of the Space Center.

Being in the water now made him feel better about wearing goggles.

As if it was some game, the dimensional shifter had fallen out of Brendan's hands and onto the floor. Matt took the opportunity to take the device for himself.

Immediately after doing so, he mega evolved the Sharpedo to ensure victory. However, Brendan and his pokemon had a different perspective on this.

"Well, Dokoro, I think that this'll be a challenge for both of us." Said the trainer to which his partner nodded.

"Sharpedo, use aqua jet!" Water erupted as the shark rushed.

"Dokoro, use shadow punch!"

The pokemon impacted their attacks into each other and caused an explosion of water.

On the other side of things, the observatory room was getting fairly hot. Both girls proceeded to mega evolve their fire types, which raised the temperature significantly.

"Use eruption..." Camerupt leaned the peak of its volcano forward and shot out the rocks and magma.

"Amber, block it!" Such an attack in an important place would be very detrimental and bad.

Raising up her arms, the Blaziken took the bulk of the attack. Her typing allowed for her to avoid massive damage, though it still burnt.

"Rush in and use power-up-punch!" Said Erica encouragingly which her pokemon used as incentive to hit harder.

Frustration was slightly appearing on Courtney's face. Erica interpreted the cause as the fact that her fire type was being beaten by another fire type.

"...Earthquake..."

"Use a sky uppercut!"

Having only a few seconds to interpret that message, Amber sprinted and delievered an uppercut. Camerupt's attack was interrupted so fiercely that it couldn't complete it. Such a quick counter was so irritating to comprehend much less accept and work around.

"...How...?"

"Amber's ability became speed boost. She's been getting faster, gradually." Explained Erica with a calm, Byakuya-like expression.

"...Rock...slide..."

Slamming it's hooves into the ground, Camerupt shot rocks out from its back towards the Mega Blaziken. Dodging seemed out of reach, but Erica didn't give up her calm composure.

"Hit 'em with power-up-punches."

A volley of the fist attack sprang from Amber, and she managed to break every boulder that was about to hit her. Such a precise and accurate attack literally stunned the opponent from making any commands.

Time for the finishing move.

"Finish with brave bird!"

Amber's wrist flames turned into wings before she double punched Camerupt, defeating it in a blaze of fire.

Courtney was left stunned and somewhat flustered by this until Erica came in front of her and pushed her into a wall.

"Trust me when I say this." Began the blonde with a very serious face. "You will never accomplish anything with destruction like this."

She received no response from the Magma girl. Perhaps she couldn't process all of this shock at once.

Back in the water, Brendan and Dokuro seemed to be doing well in handling a Mega Sharpedo at the moment.

"Dammit! Sharpedo, use agility!" The dark-water type's speed increased dramatically. "And now use ice fang!"

Sharpedo turned its attention towards the brunette and the Dusknoir with a wide open jaw. There was little time, so Dokuro pushed her trainer out of the way before being bitten.

Brendan grimaced at the fact that his pokemon was in pain, but he saw a chance in this.

"Quick Dokuro, use shadow ball!" The ghost type shot the spectral attack at pointblank range and dislodged Sharpedo. It was a little more damaging than it normally would have been.

Dokuro's level of power was just much higher than Mega Sharpedo's was. Though the same couldn't be said for defenses.

"Nice counter." Complement Matt from his standpoint. "But your still gonna lose."

It didn't take much for Brendan to figure out why because he could see Sharpedo coming in to attack again.

"Dokuro, wait for my signal." Said the brunette. Clearly he had a plan ready.

Sharpedo sped up quickly and prepared to savagely rip apart its opponents. Brendan saw this coming and used the short time to point in front of him.

Being able to interpret the command easily, Dokuro used astonish. This caused a massive splash of water that temporarily stopped the shark and sealed off its vision.

Such a tactic was risky, but it seemed to pay off. Once the water returned to normal, neither trainer nor pokemon were present. This left Matt scratching his head in confusion.

'Where did they go?' Thought the stalwart as he scanned the water.

Although it was hard to discern because of the waves, Matt could see a shadow darting around towards his mega pokemon.

"Sharpedo, attack behind you!"

Turning around, the vicious pokemon was ready to sink its teeth into Dokuro again. Much to its surprise, only water entered its mouth after the attack.

Suddenly Dokuro burst out of the water and used shadow ball one last time to finish the battle. Adding even more shock to this, Brendan soared out from nowhere and slammed into Matt.

The force of his attack was so much that the stalwart was knocked into the ground and forced to drop the device again.

"B-but...how?" Coughed the man.

"I hid with Dokuro in her shadow sneak attack. She used a second shadow ball to send me towards you." Explained the boy. "I admit though, it was pretty risky. I wasn't sure if shadow ball's attack would be strong enough."

Brendan then retrieved Dokuro as he felt satisfied with that victory. Quickly glancing into the room revealed Erica's victory.

The protagonist smirked at this easy victory for him and his girlfriend. With both extremists down for the count there was no standing threat anymore. Hoenn was safe for a little while longer.

"Nice job Erica-chan. You beat fire with fire." Complemented the boy as he walked over to her.

"Thank you. It seems that you did well without using mega evolution and you fought against type advantage. I'm proud."

Scatching his head a little, the Hoenn champion had to admit that it felt a little odd being praised by his former teacher. Mega evolving Aqua or Latios would've definitely been easier.

'Honestly though, I don't think that I can only do it once right now.' Thought the brunette. He was mentally worn down by recent events. so conjuring the energy for a mega evolution would be difficult.

That would be technique that would need more training later.

"Oh, yeah! Where is the component?" Asked Erica as she suddenly remembered their mission.

Surprised, Brendan started to looked around for it as well. Oddly enough, it wasn't anywhere within eyesight.

"Are? Where is it?"

"Over here."

All eyes turned back to the entrance to see something nobody wanted. Zinnia had returned, and now she had the dimensional shifter in her hands.

Erica felt intimidated by this change of events. She could only pray that the wasn't going to be used for destruction. The previous thoughts about Zinnia's affiliations were more fuel to that fire.

Instead of using the dimensional shifter to trigger an explosion, Zinnia began another speech.

"What an interesting device you guys have cooked up here. We just snap our fingers and everything is ok? We all live happily ever after?"

Her taunts were certainly unusual to her audience. It sound like she had seen the whole ordeal when she first arrived and remained silent the entire time.

"Yes. That's exactly how it works. Its the best hope for us right now." Proclaimed Steven as he approached her.

"Ahahaha! Yes, it's just as the Former Champion says!" Laughed the girl as she continued her taunts. "But you're wrong about two things. The first is that meteoroid is powerful enough to damage more than Hoenn."

At this point, her proclamations were becoming more difficult to believe. Science had already estimated the incoming threat perfectly. There was little reason to believe her.

However, Brendan felt it right to entertain her and continue with this. For some reason, he believed her.

"Ok then, what's the second thing that we're wrong about?" Asked the brunette.

The red eyes of Zinnia shifted from a serious death glare to that of a predator stalking prey, power over another.

"This could be the best hope for our world. Yet at the same time, it could be the calamity for a different one."

If Zinnia was aiming for attention, she had certainly received it. Like those who had pokedexes and mega evolution, she had a certain charisma that seemed to paralyze others.

"What are you saying?" Inquired Steven despite that he could accurately infer.

"My people have known about it for generations. There is a world similar to ours. A place without mega evolution, and a place that is free from the suffering of that war 3,000 years ago. A place where that terrible machine was never built."

Her last statement about the ancient war caught Erica's attention again. Opening old wounds didn't feel good or bad but uncomfortable for the blonde.

"And just imagine the fear for everyone there if, out of nowhere, a giant meteoroid appeared. Without even being able to mega evolve a single pokemon, how could they stop it?"

She paused after that question because she wanted to hear an answer from somebody else. Nobody could muster up an answer that would proclaim anything better. They all knew about how they were lucky enough to have mega evolution to assist them thus far.

Amongst them, Brendan was trying to muster up a counter argument. However, the prospect of damning others to death just seemed to risky to him.

It was just like what he told Maxie before, he didn't want to sacrifice for a future.

Zinnia's expression then shifted to sympathy as she could detect the effort from Brendan.

"Looks like you can't understand that."

Then she did the most unthinkable thing. She smashed the dimensional shifter with her bare hands.

Each individual metal piece clanked down onto the floor. Each adding another layer of surprise and despair.

"Goodbye brief...yet false hope."

 **9 hours, 37 minutes, and 8 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope that you liked it. Please review, favorite, follow, or you could do all three. And I apologize that it took so long for this one chapter, but I've got a lot of other things to do in life. Don't worry though I'll get started on the next one immediately.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna watch Markiplier make nom-noms.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Otherwise the Superbowl Commercial would've had more detailed models in the stadium.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

There was once doubt in Brendan's heart about others with evil intent. Over time he learned how to look past those intentions to see the good in others. His heart, filled with the passion of battle, could forgive just about anybody.

That ability to forgive others was starting to be called into question.

Zinnia stared down at the broken machine and casually wiggled the remaining parts out of her palm.

An incredible amount of thought and emotion towards this action, but nobody could bring themselves to say anything about it. They were all to shocked to do anything about it.

Well, nobody did for a few seconds anyway.

"What...have you...done?" Muttered Steven as he was caught in pure shock. "Do you have any idea..."

The dramatic loss of composure for his predecessor wasn't easy for Brendan to watch. He felt so much pity for Steven.

"Yes. I do understand that this was hours upon hours of hard work." Answered Zinnia. "But believe me when I say that there is a better solution than this."

Her answer didn't quell any curiosity. She only succeeded in provoking more anger from the scientists.

"You're claim has no validity to it! How can you even prove that this other world has life?!" Yelled Professor Cozmo out of frustration.

Though, as to be expected, Zinnia only continued her ambiguous nature. Choosing to wave off the stressed reaction, she bore an upbeat one in return.

"Don't worry. I'll...No, we'll definitely save this world and the other one too." Proclaimed the girl.

Her odd retort definitely caught Brendan's attention. By now it was obvious that she was the one who was stealing all of the keystones. If there were others working with her, it raised more question.

The possibility that she was part of another group like Team Magma or Aqua couldn't be dismissed either.

"What do you mean by we? Who else are you working with?" Asked Brendan.

"I don't need to tell you." Answered Zinnia with some moxie (not the ability).

Now she had succeeded in angering Brendan. His anger was quickly dismissed though by the sounds of clanking gems.

Following the noise, he noticed that the Whismur was caring a couple more keystones and was presenting them to Zinnia.

Panicked, both he and Erica glanced over to Steven; they thought that she stole his as well. But, luckily, he still had his.

'Those must belong to the admins we beat.' Noted Erica.

"Oh, thank you Aster. Mommy almost forgot about these." Said the red-eyed girl in a voice befitting of a girl talking to her pet.

Brendan took this time to connect the dots. He came to the conclusion that the 'we' Zinnia was talking about was her pokemon.

'I should've seen that coming.' Thought the brunette as he mentally slapped himself. 'I can't really see anyone willing to work with her.'

"Well, now that we've cleared up everything here, time to roll out." Proclaimed the girl as she stood back up.

She casually proceeded to exit the room under the assumption that nobody would attempt to impede her. But this time she was wrong as Steven stepped in front of her. Erica saw surprise on Zinnia's face for the second time.

"Oh. Does the former champion have something to say? Do you dislike the methods I've used?" Taunted the girl as she recovered from her temporary startle.

It seemed that Steven also recovered from his own bafflement as well. His narrowed eyes were a evidence of that.

"Tell us! What are you planning? Why didn't you try to reason with us?" Interrogated the geologist.

"What I am planning is for only me to know. Nobody else here needs to know." Proclaimed the girl with a glare bearing some anger. "And if I tried to reason with you would you even bother listening?"

Steven was taken back by the second answer; he found it hard to properly argue with it. Truthfully, he knew that disbelief would be the first reaction to her after the first interaction he had with her.

"Well, I'd at least listen to you." Stated Brendan.

Sighing, Zinnia turned around to give her speaker attention. Plastering a fake grin, she awaited his argument. "You would now?"

"Yeah, I would. After all, I've seen some pretty crazy stuff. I learned today that we can open a path to another dimension." Explained the brunette.

"I'm glad that you are acting open-minded." Said Zinnia quickly. "But tell me this, have you found a new way yet? Or were you pitting hope on this project?"

Words pierced through determination yet again for the brunette. He could take the taunting, rapid mood swings, and even Zinnia's odd ability to topple through any argument.

But turning his own words against him was effective just like it was against everybody else.

Unconsciously, he began to step away in defeat. The desire to further argue existed, but he just couldn't find the words to do so.

This is what it felt like to have lost earnestly in an argument of philosophy. To have one's grip fade away as they were pushed back by the logic of their opponent.

Brendan didn't fall far from that before he was caught by the hands of his girlfriend. He instinctively looked over to her face to see her trusting eyes. Those gray eyes were full of hope that he grasped before.

The brunette couldn't get himself to say anything; he was too surprised at the moment.

"I'd say that you've got a point there Zinnia. Maybe this wasn't the best option." Said the Kalos Champion. "However, we can still find a way. I know that more than anyone else."

Erica faced Zinnia with a calm and determined expression with a hint of a glare. However, the latter only bore an interested face.

"Fair enough. I can't wait to hear it then." There was a trace of irritation in her voice, another novel emotion for this girl.

Again, nobody attempted to stop her. Though this time it was because Erica's argument left them stunned.

About a couple hours later and Brendan was sitting outside of the building munching on some bread. While the people inside were trying to remedy the situation, he and his pokemon were trying to regain their energy.

The day, thus far, had been very busy. It was completely natural for them to be deprived of energy.

Courtney had gathered her Magma troops and went back to the base at Mt. Chimney while Matt had done the same towards Team Aqua's base. The orange, setting sun made him realize that time was running thin before the meteoroid arrived.

But, at the moment, the boy was lost in thoughts thinking about Zinnia had told him.

'I guess that wasn't the right thing to do...Good thing she stopped us...but still...'

He was interrupted from those thoughts as he was presented with some orange juice. Erica had decided to come and be with him.

"This will be good for your health." Explained the blonde girl.

"Arigato." Thanked the brunette before accepting the gift.

Erica invited herself to sit down with Brendan which, odd as it was, made him feel a little uncomfortable. He chose to be an honest partner and speak his thoughts on the subject.

"So-"

"Did what I said make you nervous?" Asked the girl, intercepting the question ahead of time.

Such a quick interception that it made the brunette flinch in surprise. "Well...uh..."

"It's ok. I understand that it wasn't the normal thing to say." Reassured the blonde girl.

"That was pretty surprsing." Admitted the brunette with a tinge of shame. "I just didn't expect you to say something like that."

A chuckle from the champion's mouth was the response to that confession. Truthfully, she would've been shocked by the same answer about a year ago as well. It then struck her that Brendan probably didn't even know about the Team Flare incident.

Explaining it would be a good gesture on her part.

"Say, Brendan-kun, do remember about a year ago when some guy promised to destroy the world using some kind of weapon?" Asked the girl.

Merely asking that question made her feel awkward. A promised genocide wasn't the usual icebreaker.

Brendan had already assumed that Erica knew something about an ultimate weapon. Her earlier reactions to that didn't go unnoticed by him, even if they weren't visible. So he was ready to learn more about it.

"Well, I didn't see the broadcast, but I heard about it from my friends in Goldenrod city." Answered the brunette. "We all thought it was just some kind of joke."

Erica laughed at that, such a natural reaction for one who witnessed the event. "Is that the cover-up story? Man, that makes me feel older."

"I doubt that. But why is that important?" Asked the Brendan.

Understanding the short impatience, she began to explain. "I was there. With my teachers, we fought against Team Flare to stop the ultimate weapon from destroying the world."

Erica and her pokemon had chosen out of their own will to fight against Aqua and Magma without anyone else aiding. They were also the ones responsible for defeating Kyogre in its primal state. Those two facts made it very easy for Brendan to accept this new one.

However, they didn't stop him from feeling some surprise at the statement. Just knowing what his girlfriend had done up to that point was astonishing.

"The man who planned to use the weapon, Lysandre, had lost faith in humanity. He couldn't see that we could do better with pokemon to create a better world."

As she continued to spin her yarn, the girl reached over to rub the side of Tetsa. The iron dinosaur showed signs of comfort and affection.

"You didn't agree with him, right?" Inferred Brendan.

"Um-hm. That's right. Since my teachers and their pokemon could no longer fight, my pokemon and I stood up to fight Lysandre and his. All the while, I kept promising him that we could find new ways and that we shouldn't ever give up hope."

Erica's tone was harboring some level of regret; obviously, this wasn't a topic she was comfortable talking about. Her interaction with her pokemon reminded Brendan of how deeply she cared for them.

"I guess that I can see my old, faithful self in Zinnia with what she was telling us back there."

Now it was starting to make more sense to Brendan. 'That girl did tell us to think of a different way and not let others die.'

Although the pieces started to click together for the boy, there was still something that was nagging at him.

"I thought that you didn't like Zinnia. You were very upset around her before." Noted the protagonist.

"Yeah, you're not wrong about that. I was very upset with her because she stole you from me. Perhaps I still haven't found it in myself to forgive her yet."

A dissatisfied but empathetic expression appeared on Erica's face as she explained. "But her understanding of that ultimate weapon gives me reason to believe that she truly isn't evil."

Taking all of this into account was a little difficult for Brendan. Especially with the earlier information from Zinnia. Strain from repetitive errands and new information really heated things up from Brendan's brain.

Removing his white knit hat from his head seemed like a good way to cool off.

"I think that she is hurt pretty hard." Stated Brendan. "Not her body, but she is probably really sad about something."

"Really? Where'd that come from?" Curiosity was now in Erica's role.

Giving a solid explanation wasn't something that could be done easily. In fact, Brendan was sure that even smart people would have a hard time answering that.

"It's hard to say...but I can just tell. I guess it is kind of like Archie and Maxie. They were just trying to make the world better."

Pausing for a few moments was the best response that Erica could give, which unnerved her boyfriend from continuing. That embarrassing feeling of stupidity returned to him.

That was until he got a pat on the head from Erica and she began to rub it.

"Uh...what are you doing?" Asked a very confused trainer.

"I can't help it. It feels like forever since I've seen you without your hat on." Laughed the girl.

Her reaction was both unexpected and embarrassing. Erica had seen him on without it plenty of times before, but her commenting on it made him feel like a little kid.

"Don't worry about it. If she is suffering, then I believe we can help her."

There was uncertainty in that promise, but Brendan chose to accept it regardless of such. It also succeeded in erasing his embarrassment.

Shortly after that, Steven stepped out of the center without his sports jacket. It was an oddity of sights for Hoenn. His emotion at the time was obviously frustration and his physical state was exhaustion.

"So you guys are still having a hard time in there?" Asked Brendan in an effort to be supportive.

"That would be putting it lightly, but I greatly wish we could." Answered the former champion. He was trying hard not to snap. "I just don't understand how you two can be so calm at a time like this."

"Well, this would be the third time that I've been involved with the supposed, 'end of the world' scenario." Answered Erica.

Eyes then turned to Brendan to know why he was also acting so calmly. Erica had the excuse of seniority in the department of crises.

"I guess I'm calm because my pokemon and I beat Groudon. Erica-chan and all my pokemon are with me still, so we aren't hopeless."

"Anything else that's helping you out? I'd appreciate any advice at the moment." Requested Steven as he pinched his nose. Obviously, he was fighting a headache.

An unusual interaction for the brunette, because he was used to being the one who asked for help.

Honestly, there wasn't much that he could say to help out his friend at the moment. A portion of his relief stemmed from Zinnia's vague promise to protect the region. Another portion was because he wouldn't have to return to Meteor Falls again.

Admitting either would be hard to do, however the latter seemed more appealing.

"We don't have to look around for more meteorites. Maybe that is a sign of good news?" Inquired Brendan.

"I suppose." Answered Steven as he still retained his exhausted face.

Suddenly, his wrinkled expression exploded with the surprise of recollection. No words were spoken as he quickly reentered the center.

Brendan and Erica responded with lesser amounts of surprise.

"What do you think that was about?" Asked Brendan.

"Trust me when I say that becoming a champion means that you are not normal anymore." Explained the blonde with humor.

Moments later, the silver-haired dreamboat came out of the building with his jacket and his pokeballs.

"I know that you two are very tired today, but there is still more to be done." Requested Steven.

"Alright. Where are we headed then?" Inquired Erica, implying that she was ready to jump back into the fray.

All of her partners showed that same readiness; it was a good sign of relationship between human and pokemon.

"We need to head to Meteor Falls."

'Again?!' This would be the first documented time that Brendan experienced karma.

'I'm ready to go.'

Brendan turned over to see that Latios was ready to fly anywhere now. Not only him but apparently all of Brendan's pokemon seemed ready to go again. Either they were really concerned for their home as well or-

'Did Zinnia have some kind of effect on them as well?' Thought the brunette.

Taking all of this into account, Brendan accepted the fact that he would be going to the same place for the third time in a row on the same day.

He sat up, drank the last of orange juice, and placed his hat back on.

"Ok. You've got us in this too."

The flight towards the cave near Rustboro wasn't too horribly long, but the two main protagonists could admit to being tired of flying already.

Entering into the cave proved nothing new for either of them. Just the same creamy yellow environment with water. They probably would've been running in circles again if Steven hadn't chosen to go into a somewhat conspicuous entrance.

Following him into it, Brendan and Erica found the cave to become more complex and beautiful.

"Wow. How come we didn't see this part before?" Asked the boy.

"I'm not sure. It just didn't seem important, I guess." The blonde's explanation would've been more thoughtful if she wasn't observing the ground.

There appeared to be deep gashes in the yellow rock. They were definitely caused by a pokemon of some kind. It was then that both her and Brendan noticed that Steven had vanished from their sight.

Pondering for the answer didn't last very long as a Druddigon came out of nowhere and tried to lop Brendan's head off. His fast reflexes allowed him to barely dodge the attack.

"Ok, somebody's asking for it!" Yelled the champion in response before reaching for his starter's pokeball.

Upon entering the battle, Aqua instinctively slammed his fist into Druddigon's claw. A somewhat effective attack, but he had to endure some pain due to the dragon's rough skin.

"Don't back down, use hammer arm." Encouraged the trainer. His Swampert then slammed his fist into the red and blue dragon's stomach. Certainly a massive blow indeed.

'It's not over.' Thought Brendan as he watched the flightless dragon get back up.

Being resilient, the dragon swung around using revenge to inflict a lot of pain towards Aqua. But stubbornness in battle was a trait that Aqua possessed with his trainer; he succeeded in a quick recovery.

As Erica watched the battle from afar, she couldn't help but notice how oddly Druddigon was acting.

"Your fighting...it isn't just instinct." Her observations were quickly interrupted by a Flygon swooping in and almost hit her.

She wasn't nearly as physically trained as Brendan was, but Erica had some reflexes. Thinking quickly, she sent out Aquarius and to counter it.

"Hydro pump." The water serpent immediately shot out a geyser and grounded Flygon. "Ice beam."

Though a somewhat cruel method, Aquarius shot the attack at sand dragon right as it met the ground. Now the dragon was glued to the floor by some ice and was left with little to no energy left.

Seeing this opponent on the ground made Erica realize something.

'Flygon don't seemed suited for caves.'

However, Druddigon was a pokemon that was accustomed to living in caves. So Brendan didn't question this dragon's presence. That and he is dense sometimes.

"Aqua, use power-up punch!"

After the water starter slammed his fist into the rough dragon, Brendan noticed something odd about the pokemon. Its eyes seemed to dart to the right after receiving attacks.

Curiosity drove the boy to not give another command and allow Aqua to be struck twice. Of course, this led to the water-ground type towards confusion (not the status).

To assure his pokemon Brendan pushed his hand down on air and mouthed the wait. A strong relationship was displayed here as Aqua patiently took the pain.

'If this is true...' He observed Druddigon again to see that its line of sight shifted to the right again. "Aqua, use mud-slap!"

With some vigor, Aqua slung the attack towards his opponent's face, obscuring its vision in the process. "And finish with another hammer arm!"

Taking the window of opportunity, the water-ground pokemon slammed his fist into the dragon and finished the battle.

"Alright, you're pokemon is down. You might as well come out now." Said Brendan as he faced the right.

His demand wasn't met with immediate recognition. However, persistence in the form of silent patience got somebody to come out. It was a mane with dark skin like Zinnia's, but he wore some kind of odd, kimono-like, outfit.

"Why were you attacking us?" Asked Brendan.

"It's because you've come here to apprehend Zinnia." Answered an elderly voice.

Steven reappeared onto the scene with an elderly woman who wore a kimono similar to that of the man's. She also bore skin that was of a similar tone in color.

"I don't know about handing her anything, but we were just following Steven here." Answered Brendan.

His honest (and stupid) answer made Erica chuckle a little. But such a comical response left the old woman curious and confused.

"You'll have to excuse him. His vocabulary is limited." Said the geologist.

"Ah, I see. Anyway, please follow me." Insisted the old woman.

Being somewhat defensive after the first assault, Brendan chose not to move. A reassuring expression from Steven seemed to convince him though. Aqua was retrieved, and Brendan and Erica left the scene to be tended to.

Following their guide deeper into the cave led the three of them into what appeared as a village. Houses and areas were carefully crafted out of the yellow rocks that colored the cave.

Ever person present in the village, young or old, also seemed to be partnered with a dragon pokemon of sorts. Even dragon-esque pokemon like Charizard and Gyarados could be seen.

'Does Latios know about this place?' Thought Brendan as he observed the scenery.

Along the way, the elder began to explain the place.

"This is the village of us Draconids. My granddaughter, Zinnia, is one of us."

That did well to shed light on the situation, and explained how she knew about Zinnia. Her explanation also strengthened the idea that they knew about the eon twins.

The old lady led them towards one of the houses that was carved out of the cave wall.

It was a tiny house with very little present aside from the essentials. Plenty of thick books and scrolls contrasted with many toys that were fit for a little child. Given the prior encounter, it was easy to infer that this was Zinnia's room.

However, the toys on the ground didn't seem fit for somebody like her to be playing with. More questions were raised.

"Ok, what do you want to know about Zinnia?" Asked the old woman blatantly.

"How did you know that were going to ask about her?" Said Brendan in surprise.

"Come now child, it is just common knowledge at this point. Now what do you want to know?"

Steven would be the first to question he situation. "For starters, what position does she hold amongst the Draconids here?"

"She is the Lorekeeper here. Her duty is to work with Latios and Latias, and she is also the overseer of the sacred shrine." Explained the woman.

This raised more questions than it did answers. It appeared that their supposed guide wouldn't be able to help them. So Latios and Latias were immediately released from their pokeballs.

'What's going on?' Asked Latias.

'Do you know anything about this place? About the Draconids?' Asked Erica.

Only after being asked that did both dragons realize the setting. Both recognized it as Meteor Falls only because Erica and Brendan brought them there earlier.

It was the presence of the old lady that they could recognize as being in relation with the Draconids. She seemed somewhat surprised at the sudden appearance of the eon twins.

"What are these two doing with you?" She seemed very critical towards the two when asking that question.

"They requested that we fight with them against Groudon and Kyogre." Answered the blonde honestly. "Ever since then, they've been fighting alongside us."

Now everyone was curious as to why they were not with the Lorekeeper if she was supposed to partner with them.

'If you guys were supposed to go to Zinnia, how did you end up with us?' Asked Brendan.

Latios struggled to answer, apparent by his expression, in trying to remember those kind of instructions. 'I don't ever recall that. Never once did somebody come to our island before you.'

Despite the majority of his brain in tatters, Brendan chose to ask another question. Though this one was directed toward the old lady, not that she knew about the others.

"Ok then, how come you guys know about Latios and Latias? Why are you called Draconids?" His expression shifted to intensify the gravity.

"To answer that, we'll need to go to another room. Follow me." That wasn't met with rejection because there was too much curiosity for an answer.

The next area was a large wall that was painted with murals similar to those seen on Mt. Pyre and the Granite cave.

Erica came to the assumption that the Draconids were responsible for all of those murals that she had seen around the region. She was going to sate this curiosity, but the elderly woman began to explain.

"The recent resurrection wasn't the first time that Hoenn had faced a disaster as such. And this meteorite that plagues us now isn't anything new either. Our home has faced many trials for centuries now and every single time, a dragon savior bearing the mark of what we call delta came to save us."

A tap on the shoulder from Latios interrupted Brendan from listening. 'What's up?'

'My memory is coming back to me. Let me see if I can try to make this simpler for you.' Insisted the dragon.

While he could normally take that as an insult to his intelligence, the boy accepted the offer.

Latios's psychic abilities gave life to the paintings, at least in Brendan's vision.

Black lines swirled and convulsed in indescribable manners. But the thin figure soared over it and restored peace. The illustrations then morphed into figures bearing omega and alpha.

Brendan interpreted those as Groudon and Kyogre. Images clashed against one another and the aforementioned savior intervened and stopped the clash. Their fight ended, and peace returned again. That was where the show ended.

"So, this savior of yours, does it relate to Groudon and Kyogre?" Questioned the brunette.

Steven flinched, experiencing an epiphany. "Of course. If Groudon represents the land, Kyogre represents the sea, then surely this savior is a pokemon and must represent the sky."

"Correct, our savior taught us its name to be Rayquaza. And it was from it we learned how to trigger the first mega evolution." Answered the woman.

"How did you learn mega evolution from a legendary pokemon?" Inquired Erica as this sounded ludicrous, even for the standards of that day.

To answer that, the woman walked over to Erica and held her mega ring.

"This same rainbow colored rock appeared in those days. We learned how it would be a conduit for us to create mega evolved pokemon. After Rayquaza left, we found many more megastones across the world."

"Did the same happen for Latios and Latias?" Asked Brendan, which she nodded to.

"Even though Rayquaza doesn't have a megastone, we learned in time that many other pokemon do and required them."

This story opened up a lot of other questions that would be hard to answer. Was this really the first time that a pokemon mega evolved? How did Rayquaza mega evolve without a megastone?

But it did answer one question, albeit indirectly. Zinnia's plan was to use Rayquaza's power to destroy the meteorite. After all, if this legendary pokemon could defeat both Kyogre and Groudon, then it certainly had the power to destroy a hunk of rock.

Being that this dragon was the center of these people's lifestyle added more weight to that argument. That was now assumed by all present.

"Was Zinnia collecting the keystones to summon Rayquaza?" Inquired Steven. He succeeded in catching onto the possibility of multiple uses with keystones.

"Yes."

"Where is she going to do it?" Asked Brendan.

His question wasn't given an answer, and it was obvious why. If what this girl was doing was truly heroic, then there was no need to pursue her further.

"Look, I understand that she isn't a bad person, but she still stole from my friends. And I promised them that they would get their keystones back."

A short glimpse of change appeared in the woman's eyes. For some reason, his choice and promise reminded her of the Lorekeeper. Brendan's gray eyes were filled with the promise that Zinnia's red eyes contained.

Sighing, she complied with the hero. "She is going to our sacred shrine, Sky Pillar."

"Ok, where is that?"

"I think that Wallace will be helping us out there." Answered Steven. Brendan and Erica turned over to see him reading a message on his Pokenav.

The geologist proceeded to explain that Sky Pillar was a giant tower located just west of Pacifilog town.

Taking this information and finding the location of said town, the two immediately disembarked to find Zinnia. Whether it would be to help her save the world, or make her pay for coveting.

"Why did you not go with them?" Asked Zinnia's grandmother.

"To be honest, I feel like only those two should go. Brendan has a way to change people." Explained Steven.

About twenty minutes later both protagonists arrived in Pacifilog town, which had a very symbolic name. The town was literally floating out in the middle of the ocean on top of logs. Somehow it even had a pokemon center.

And this design choice was throwing off Brendan's balance making him seasick.

"You're getting nauseous?" Asked Erica.

"Yeah, a little bit. Let's just find this place quick." Insisted Brendan.

"Hold on, let's take our pokemon to the center quickly. They haven't gotten proper healing all day." Insisted the blonde.

Although the prospect of staying here longer than he wanted to wasn't pleasing in the least, Brendan relented and agreed with his girlfriend for a good reason.

It was more than likely that Zinnia would disagree with whatever they would and response with a pokemon battle.

Time spent in there felt more like time wasted for both trainers. More people were waiting before them than they had anticipated.

"Alright, I'll take the blame for that."

"You can play the penalty game later. Right now, we've got Hoenn to save." Retorted the brunette.

Traversing on the water via their water pokemon, the two trainers made it to an opening along the rocks. Following it led them an island that supported a very tall tower. Such a structure must've been at least fifty meters tall.

The only thing more surprising than the height of the tower was the fact that it went unnoticed by Brendan and Erica all this time.

"How did we not see that on the way here?" Asked Brendan with baffled eyes.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Answered Erica with some surprise of her own.

At the base of the tower was Wallace, he appeared to be patiently awaiting their arrival in front of the entrance to a cave.

"Ah, good to see you two again." Greeted the gym leader cheerfully.

"It's nice to see you as well, Wallace. Why did you call us all the way out here?" Asked Erica quickly, she had little patience for small things right now.

"Well, it might take a little while to explain, but there is a seal that surrounds this monument. To get through, you'd have to beat the Draconid that put it up." Explained the model.

Of course, this left the two champions with a hint of despair. Even to Brendan it was obvious that Zinnia was inside and that she put up the barrier. But he was still somewhat dense.

"Doesn't matter, I'll just break through it with raw force!" Proclaimed the hot-blooded brunette before rushing into a cave opening.

His charge was quickly halted and he tumbled back down. "Fine, you got another idea?"

"Actually, I do. Ancient Sootopolitans worked alongside Draconids. I am a direct descendent so I could open the seal and you could pass through this opening. But you'd have to defeat my pokemon and I first."

This backdoor solution both relaxed Erica and gave her some more stress. It was good because it meant that healing her pokemon in the pokemon center was now a good choice.

Obviously, it was stressful because of the more time that would be used up.

"Can't you just open it?" She was practically begging.

"If I could, then I would. But you'll need to prove your bond against a Sootopolitan to get through."

"Fine, we'll take you on together." Said Brendan as he got back up.

Wallace accepted those conditions and began by releasing a massive blue whale pokemon, Wailord, and a blue and yellow fish with whiskers, Whishcash. Both of them took residence in the water.

In response, Brendan and Erica sent out Apato and Tetsa respectively.

"Whishcash, use rain dance." The ground-water type caused a cloud to form over and cause some rainfall. "And Wailord, use water spout."

A combo attack was flawlessly executed as the float whale pokemon released a geyser that managed to inflict serious damage towards Tetsa. Apato however, was able to dodge thanks to quick footing.

"Apato, use mach punch!" Said Brendan, and his pokemon followed suite by rushing in and knocking Whiscash in the face.

"Tetsa, use autotomize." Both trainers chose a tactic that revolved around speed.

With the iron dinosaur making itself lighter and the grass boxer only succeeding in a pot shot, this battle wasn't off to a great start.

'I would like to make this easy on them. But it has to be genuine.' Thought the sootopolitan. "Wailord, use heavy slam. Whiscash, add cover with muddy water."

Another combo was enacted as the giant water pokemon approached the shoreline with the intention to crush. And a wave in front of it would make halting the attack even more difficult.

"Tetsa, counter head on with iron tail!"

"Apato, hit the wave with power-up punch!"

This time the champions were aiming for some teamwork in an attack. Step one of punching the wave with Apato's quick fists were successful, but step two didn't appear the same.

Tetsa's iron tail against Wailord's massive weight was so drastically different in power that the dinosaur stood no chance and was sent reeling back.

With what seemed like seemed like little progress, Brendan and Erica were now faced with the dimming possibility of ever getting into Sky Pillar.

The sky far from Hoenn had since ceased the thunderous show. Now many clouds simply floated in the currents of air. And with them, the green blur continued to soar. Suddenly, it stopped its soaring.

The blur ceased for a few moments, taking on a serpentine form. It glanced over towards the sky above before changing direction. Hoenn was its new destination.

 **6 hours, 8 minutes, and 19 seconds until impact...**

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it. Apologies for how long it took to get out and that it kind of ends on a cliff hanger. But after it is posted I will begin on the next one immediately.

Unless I'm distracted by playing Pokémon Blue.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, then Magearna would look a little bit more like Diancie.

"Speech"

'Thought'

Just as a warning, this chapter gets a little heavy with some sorrowful themes.

* * *

"The sky looks odd today."

May was caught staring up at the big blue scape positioned above her. Hoenn had extreme environments, yet something about the sky didn't seem right to her today. This action didn't go unnoticed by her current companion.

"Is something wrong May?" Asked Wally.

"Nothing really. Maybe today I'm just a little off." Answered the pig-tailed girl. She couldn't find any drastic changes.

As a casual gesture for any pokemon trainer, she pulled out one of her pokeballs. May pondered what to do with the pokemon inside as she observed the red and white design.

'I guess it would be good to go to the beach in Slateport.' Her decision was made as she put on her bandanna. 'Yeah, and I'm sure that Kyogre won't make it rain.'

...

Brendan and Erica had yet to prove anything substantial in their battle against Wallace. Although Tetsa and Apato were certainly putting in the effort, they just couldn't synchronize better than the water pokemon could.

"Honestly, I hate to beat Brendan alone in a pokemon battle, much less him and his teacher at the same time." Lamented Wallace in a semi-dramatic manner.

Erica glanced over to her partner and gave him a smirk. In turn Brendan responded with his own. They had yet to really put in enough effort.

"Don't count your Torchics before they hatch." Warned Brendan.

"Tetsa, use metal burst!"

Suddenly, the metal dinosaur slammed herself against Wailord and managed to lift her opponent up. She then proceeded to launch it into some of the nearby rocks and inflict serious damage.

Recovering from the surprise, Wallace failed to notice that Apato had leapt high above Whiscash. The fact that Breloom was a grass type came back to him.

"Apato, use seed bomb!" Said Brendan.

Making use of the aerial position, the plant boxer launched the bulbs directly down at his opponent. An incredible amount of damage was dealt and Whiscash fainted from the attack.

As Apato came back down to the ground, he was getting close to Tetsa.

"Use iron tail on Apato!"

"Force palm!"

One second before the Breloom could hit the ground, he was rocketed forward by Tetsa's tail towards the whale. Such extreme force made his punch powerful enough to diminish any of Wailord's remaining stamina.

Surprise would be an accurate definition to what Wallace was expressing. But he soon rid himself of that response when he reminded himself of just who it was he was battling against.

'I shouldn't be taking these two lightly. After all, Brendan and his pokemon have defeated me before.' Thought the gym leader before preparing his next two pokemon.

After retrieving Wailord and Whiscash, Wallace released his next water duo of pokemon while it still rained.

Though this time, they seemed very different in appearance. He had sent out the evolved form of Tentacool, Tentacruel; and an upright duck with a lily pad on it's head, Ludicolo.

Tentacruel resided in the water and remained calm while Ludicolo danced in a jolly manner.

"...Is your pokemon going to be ok?" Asked Brendan, trying to remain professional.

"Don't worry about it. Ludicolo always dances." Reassured the turquoise-haired man. "In fact, Ludicolo, use toxic!"

With surprisingly quick footing, the water-grass type rushed up to Apato and clapped its flippers. From the green flippers came some toxins that instantly poisoned Apato.

"Tetsa, use iron tail!" Said Erica. Her pokemon abused the momentary surprise to slam it's heavy tail into Ludicolo.

"Apato, chase and sky uppercut!"

In spite of his pokemon's poisoned condition, the brunette sought to take advantage of the opening that his partner made for him. Luckily, Apato had a spirit of a fighter.

He closed the distance with the flying semi-duck, but was suddenly halted as Tentacruel's tentacles grabbed him. The Breloom was given no time to properly react as he was pulled towards the poisonous water type.

"Dazzling gleam." Commanded Wallace. His pokemon released a bright pink light that took out a large portion of Apato's stamina.

"Rock tomb!" Said Erica.

Wallace turned around to see that the iron dinosaur started chucking rocks towards Ludicolo. Possibly in an attempt to bury it so that it and Tentacruel could be taken down one at a time.

Much to the surprise of the Kalos champion, Ludicolo managed to dodge around all the incoming projectiles. This obviously frustrated her to some extent.

"Apato, use sky uppercut!" Brendan knew that it was rude to butt into a match, but there was much at stake here.

Even though the grass-boxer's stamina was wearing down, he managed to get in close and land a strong blow against the crazy dancer.

Silent encouragement from the trainer pushed Apato to attack again repeatedly. Unlike his last attempt though, the jabs kept missing as Ludicolo seemed to mix its dancing into dodging. The rain also aided in this by adding less friction for the ground.

"Tentacruel, use sludge wave." Wallace certainly had something in mind when he got his poison type to spew its attack at the grass type.

"Tetsa!"

Somehow understanding what her trainer was urging, the Aggron leapt forward and tried to cover Apato from the oncoming attack. Her steel type would prevent any damage from poison type attacks.

The epic lunge wasn't successful as the wet sand caused Tetsa to slide further than intended. As a result of the opening, Apato was covered in the sludge and felt immense pain.

'Crap.' Brendan knew better for the situation and retrieved his pokemon before he could take anymore damage.

Taking a closer look at the situation offered insight for the brunette. Ludicolo's ability must've allowed it to move faster in rain so that it could attack up close. And Tentacruel would attack from afar, which would stop those trying to match the party pokemon's strength.

Rin was sent out to continue the battle. A reluctant choice as Brendan knew that her fire fang attack wouldn't be useful in this battle. However, her intimidation would be useful.

"Tetsa, attack with rock smash." Erica knew that Brendan's pokemon was more close quarters rather than long range. She was trying to make it easier to land heavy blows.

Surprisingly, the attack successfully connected and lowered Ludicolo's defense.

"Spray a scald." After being hit, Ludicolo began to puff up in preparation of spraying scalding water.

"Sucker punch!"

Rin rushed in before the attack could be executed and swiped her paw in the dancer's face, causing the water to spray elsewhere.

First attack was blocked, but Tentacruel's tentacles immediately extended to grab the Mightyena.

"Rin, your fangs!" Brendan was quick to alert his pokemon. She responded quickly by biting into the tentacles and then yanking the water-poison type towards her.

"Dazzling gleam!" Commanded Wallace in an attempt to inflict damage.

The membranes on the jellyfish started to glow brightly with the intent to harm Rin. Something that would've been a successful attempt, if it wasn't for Tetsa getting in the way. She adjusted the force of her speed this time.

Iron scales completely deflected the fairy attack and Tentacruel was on the wet sand now.

"Earthquake." Said Erica. Her partner followed through by slamming her fist into the ground and causing to shake somewhat.

Although the attack wasn't completely effective, it still managed to at least take out Ludicolo. Tentacruel managed to sustain consciousness after the attack despite it being supereffective.

Brendan didn't seem keen on letting that continue.

"Rin, use crunch!" The Mightyena leapt up from behind Tetsa and pounced onto the jellyfish. Reacting to the attack was impossible as she delivered the finishing blow.

Retrieving his pokemon, Wallace could feel a tinge of frustration. Any trainer would want their pokemon to win a battle, so it was expected. But he kept his composure because he was battling against two of the best in this generation.

'We've got to finish this. I'm getting really nervous, and so are my pokemon.' Thought the turquoise-haired man.

Favoring speed over defense for the next match-up, Erica retrieved Tetsa and sent out Latias in her place.

'Sorry about this.' Apologized the blonde because she knew about her pokemon's near constant flight all day.

'It's ok. This is all for Hoenn.' Answered the red dragon with a smile. 'You've really got to stop apologizing all the time.'

Erica sighed happily at her friend's insistence.

Setting the stage for the final stretch, Wallace sent out his Milotic alongside a Gyarados. As if on cue, the rain stopped and the small clouds dispersed. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to the two champions.

"Rin, use snarl!" Said Brendan quickly. He was well aware that the aggressive serpent's intimidation would weaken physical attacks.

Snarl succeeded in moderately damaging Milotic, but Gyarados quickly responded by attacking with a waterfall atop Rin.

"Latias, dragon pulse!" Commanded Erica, her pokemon followed what Rin started and immediately attacked.

"Milotic, use recover." Said Wallace calmly.

The blonde's hair flicked in surprise as the damage disappeared from the serpent's perfect skin. But she should've been aware of Milotic's versatility in battle.

Persistence drove Brendan to abandon his previous outlook upon seeing this. "Rin, attack Milotic with crunch!"

Rin leapt towards the normally gentle pokemon only to be stopped by Gyarados's stone edge. Such a quick tactic left her without any means to retaliate.

"Milotic, use ice beam." Seizing the opportunity, Milotic shot Latias with a super-effective attack.

"Don't give up!" Cheered Brendan. "Rin, use snarl!"

The brunette had a good influence on all of his pokemon; the dark hound shook off her pain and attacked Milotic.

As to be expected, Wallace commanded Gyarados to attack Rin again.

"Dragon pulse." Said Erica.

Latias intervened and was successful when the raging serpent was sent back by the attack, evidence of a critical hit.

However, the water-flying pokemon still had plenty of fight left in it. "Gyarados, attack Latias with bite."

Lunging forward, Gyarados aimed to completely engulf the psychic dragon in its maw. But on instinct, Rin jumped in the way.

"Rin, use your crunch attack!" Said Brendan. His pokemon bit down on the edge of Gyarados's mouth before being caught in herself.

"Milotic, use dragon pulse." The beautiful pokemon aimed at Latias once again with the same powerful attack as before.

"Counter with your own!" Said Erica.

The two beams met and struggled against one another until Latias managed to overpower and succeeded in hitting Milotic.

This match seemed to be progressing in the favor of the champions. Milotic and Gyarados moved to a position that only Latias and Rin stood in a direct line with. Such a silent movement provoked nervousness.

'We should break that position they are in. But if we do that, then whoever does it will be stuck between both pokemon.' Thought Brendan.

Taking that into consideration led him to decided upon waiting. Erica also chose that decision and didn't give any command.

Wallace, however, couldn't find it in himself to bear with this for any longer. This match needed to be decided as soon as possible.

"Milotic, Dragon pulse. Gyarados, use stone edge." Said Wallace.

Unexpectedly, both serpents mixed their attacks into each other. Sharp rocks spun around the dragonic beam that was aimed directly at Rin and Latias.

Brendan flinched at such an incredible attack. As it approached slowly, he began to panic about how to stop that. Erica grabbed his hand to gain attention. Their eyes met. No words were spoken as they both understood a strategy to get through that.

"Rin, charge in!" Encouraged the boy.

Fearlessly, the Mightyena dove into the attack. She was engulfed in the torrent, but she somehow jumped out of the other side.

"Crunch!" Rin latched onto Gyarados and flipped it onto Milotic. The strength of Rin's jaws defeated the leviathan while its weight being thrown onto the beautiful serpent, defeating both pokemon.

Truthfully, Wallace wasn't too surprised by this sudden victory. Curiosity was a different matter, though.

'How did they...' His attention was directed towards the attack that was slowly dissipating.

Latias also seemed to be bearing a stance of concentration, and it made sense. Through use of psychic control, the combination attack was hindered so that Rin could pass through the open areas of it without harm.

"Well, I'd say that you two did it." Congratulated Wallace before retrieving the serpents.

"Really? We can go now?" Asked Brendan, who was clearly tired of anymore delays in anything.

"Yes, the barrier should be lowered. You should have access to the tower."

Believing those words, the couple withdrew their pokemon and entered the cave entrance to see that it had indeed become accessible. A quick thanks was given for the assistance before they ventured deeper in.

Wallace stood there for a few moments. Truthfully, he regretted having to pit his hopes on those two yet again.

A brisk few minutes passed by through the cave as it offered nothing complex. Just the way that the protagonists wanted it.

Their interests were pitted on the tower at the moment.

After quickly exiting the cave, they approached the base of the structure. Somehow, it appeared even more menacing and tall upon closer proximity.

'Was that intentional?' Thought Erica as she and her boyfriend entered.

Inside the tower was dotted with triangular blocks on the ground, and some were even being broken to bits. Fascination bloomed even more as the upper floors remained only partially intact and revealed a complex sight. Obviously, time hadn't been kind to this sacred ground.

'This place sure went down.' Thought Brendan as he looked around.

On one of the three walls was a very large painting that depicted what was to be expected. Images of Kyogre controlling waves and rain, and Groudon controlling volcanoes and the sun covered the base. What looked like meteorites were above those two.

And at the base of it was Zinnia, who was facing away from the champions.

"Yo." Brendan bluntly announced their presence.

Zinnia instantly swerved around with surprise once she heard that. Clearly she didn't anticipate having any guests at this hour.

"What? How did you two get in here?" Asked the draconid. "I was positive about the strength of my seal on Sky Pillar."

"We got help. But that's not important right now." Answered the brunette.

Instead of the usual responses that revolved around taunting or genuine curiosity, Zinnia looked skeptical and irritated. With one leap, she hurled over the rumble that separated her from Brendan and Erica.

Probably as an act of intimidation, she landed right in front of Brendan.

"Oh? And what is important right now?" Asked the girl of red eyes.

Brendan would've responded, but his girlfriend stepped in for him.

"Don't try any mind games here. You've got a lot to answer to." Answered the blonde.

To make her point clear, she released Latias. Brendan mimicked her action and sent out Latios. Both dragons had seen Zinnia before, but now they looked at her in a different light.

"Starting with these two." Said Erica. However, her serious tone was rejected with ease.

"If it isn't the eon twins. You know, I'm really glad that they chose you two." Stated Zinnia. "I couldn't risk blowing my cover when I was in Team Magma."

That answer didn't sit well with the champions or the dragons. Her previous affiliation hadn't been fully explained yet either; so it was important to tackle that question, as well.

"And why were you with them?" Asked Brendan.

"I can't really tell you that yet. But I can tell you about why I kidnapped you." Brendan accepted that. Any extra information would be good now.

Some of Erica's previous feelings of anger and resentment towards Zinnia flared back up. However, they didn't surpass her previous experiences or the resolve she now held.

"I'll be honest, I lied about thinking you were with Team Magma. I also knew about you two defeating Groudon and Kyogre, so it would be a good idea to separate you guys and keep you busy for a while."

Admittedly, that made sense from a tactical standpoint. Zinnia's errands across Hoenn wouldn't go unnoticed by the heroes. Having the Eon Flute threw a Monferno wrench into that plan.

This affirmed the observation that Erica made when she battled Zinnia earlier. She did a really good job of making herself seem like an innocent and stupid girl.

But it didn't succeed in making her any more likeable.

"Ya see that painting over there?" Asked the girl as she pointed to the back of the tower. "It depicts the tale of-"

"We already know about it." Interrupted Brendan. "Groudon and Kyogre fought a really long time ago, and Rayquaza mega evolved to stop them."

Surprise filled the Draconid's eyes before she dismissed this odd revelation. A few more moments allowed her to figure out how they knew this.

"I get it, Granny must've told you about me. That makes this easier, I guess. Just follow me then if you guys want to learn more about the truth."

Displaying even more amazing physical prowess, Zinnia leapt up from the ground up onto the next platform and walked out of view. The weathered structure somehow seemed stable after such.

Getting answers was the main incentive for following her. But the two were stayed for a few seconds while their dragons glanced around the interior with intrigue. This was more interesting at the moment.

"What's up with you guys?" Asked Brendan.

'This is the place.' Answered Latios bluntly.

"Are?"

'This is where the ancient clash took place. It was also here that Latias and I received our mega stones.' Explained the dragon.

Latias didn't explain anything, she didn't even speak. Her expression was caught between fear and nostalgia before she struggled to stay up.

Erica quickly stepped in and held up her partner. Damage sustained from the last battle was starting to take its toll. Too much more time would be bad, so she was sent back into the pokeball to rest.

'I'm sorry about that.' Erica came to regret not purchasing any items to help heal her pokemon. She also regretted having to apologize to Latias again. This time, she would get the much needed rest.

"Latios, can you help us get up to the top?" Asked Erica. "You've been here before so you should have an idea."

Because he couldn't connect thoughts with her, Latios gave Erica a nod to show his compliance.

Zinnia traversed through the decrepit Sky Pillar with ease, but the same couldn't be said for the heroes.

Many times dust would fall from beneath the floor they were on which prompted worry. And Erica even fell off of a ladder. Lucky for her, Latios was quick enough to catch her.

At that point the blue dragon's presence was a blessing. They soon caught up to the Draconid girl who was patiently waiting.

"I get it now." Said Zinnia bluntly.

"Get what?"

"Why Granny told you everything about me. She always worries about me." Explained the girl.

Brendan narrowed his eyes in response to that. "If you knew that she worried a lot about you, then why did you go through with all of this?

"Oh, don't worry about that. She's my adopted Grandmother. I don't know my real parents or grandparents."

A tinge of sadness brimmed in Erica's mind after hearing that. She could relate to that feeling a little bit. The duration of that feeling wasn't too long though as she wanted to get answers to the situation.

Zinnia picked up on that desire and began to tell her tale.

"So you already know that Groudon and Kyogre fought before, and Lord Rayquaza managed to quell their battle. But you probably didn't know that there was more than one fight."

This novel information sounded odd, but not implausible.

"Yeah, several decades passed on with those two remaining dormant until a large meteoroid impacted in what is now Sootopolis city."

Suddenly, Brendan's eyes widened with surprise when he realized the crater-like structure of the city. There was absolutely no chance of that being a coincidence.

"Because of that, a well of natural energy poured out and those two regained their previous power. But there was a rainbow that shone forth from the meteoroid. And from that, Lord Rayquaza, coaxed in emerald, fought for peace yet again."

Zinnia ended her sentence with a bit of sentimentality. Nothing new by this point, but it was making the tale more compelling.

There wasn't a chance to continue asking her about the past as she darted away again.

Sighing, Brendan began to follow her with his girlfriend and his pokemon following him. As they continued to ascend, the air pressure began to change.

At one point during such expedition, the air started to become thinner for some reason. This was certainly worth more questions.

"Why is it getting harder to breath?" Asked the brunette with some frustration.

"I don't know, and we've flown to higher levels. This shouldn't be a problem."

Something else caught their attention along with the thin air. Much more of the mural was visible to the protagonists to see now and it certainly added interest to that place.

Above Groudon and Kyogre was a half circle surrounded by human figures, presumably the Draconids. Inside of it a circle was positioned that contained a wavy pattern, the same pattern on keystones.

And the real piece of glory was the figure above even that. In shape it greatly resembled the depictions of Rayquaza in Meteor falls, but this one was far more complex.

While it was still a relatively straight line of connected circles with a triangle at the end; there was also lines stemming from the sides. Those lines converged around the edges in what looked like fire.

All of this came together to resemble an arrow of judgment being fired down from upon the heavens.

"Guess it was a good idea to call him 'Lord' Rayquaza." Stated Brendan.

Not much more time passed before finding where Zinnia was waiting. She didn't have any trouble breathing and noticed that her guests were.

"Just try to relax a little bit. You guys are too stressed." Said the red-eyed girl.

There were literally no better alternatives than to take her advice and calm down somewhat. A calm mind did constitute better breathing.

"Now that you can enjoy yourselves, I'll continue my story." Her proclamation was accompanied by a good amount of moxie.

"After defeating Groudon and Kyogre this time, Lord Rayquaza received aide from the early Draconids to seal the two away. After doing so, our savior left us and we knew full well that he would come back when we would need it. From that same meteoroid that gave Lord Rayquaza power, we learned about the keystones for mega evolution."

"That definitely explains where you learned about. But what about mega stones? They certainly aren't the same as a keystone." Inquired Erica.

"You are certainly right. After Rayquaza had left, a tall traveler visited us and took intrigue upon the previous predicaments. He taught us about mega stones that were from his region. In addition to that, he also said that Rayquaza resembled a form that he called delta. We took it upon that to pay respects to our savior with that. He also gave Groudon the name omega and Kyogre the name alpha."

'So AZ is related to this that deeply?'

Erica had become accustomed to the relations that recent events had to her home region. Suspicions about that would have to be put aside for the moment.

Unaware of what his girlfriend was thinking, Brendan was trying to remember what delta was. He clearly recalled that Zinnia's grandmother mentioned something about it.

A triangular shape that was used to describe Rayquaza was the best answer he could muster. Because of the tower's shape and several triangle rocks, that answer seemed appropriate.

"A while after that second battle, my people ran into Latios and Latias. A contract was formed between them to protect the region alongside Lord Rayquaza."

Brendan turned back to his partner. 'That sound right?'

'Yeah.' Latios put in a good bit of cognitive effort to think back to that time.

His memory remained foggy, but the events of the second battle were ripe in his memory. Stumbling across some people who offered help was also there, so he trusted Zinnia's words.

"Seems like I've really done good to entertain you two. There's only a little more to tell. Follow me." Insisted the girl before climbing once again.

Shortly after following her Brendan connected some dots together in his head.

'Emerald...that's a color that's greenish. This all seems familiar...'

His mind toggled around searching for the answer before it finally came to him. The surprise expanded beyond his thoughts and to his entire body.

"Brendan-kun, is something wrong?" Asked Erica as she noticed this. Latios also stopped in curiosity at his trainer's odd action.

"I think...yeah, I get it now!" Brendan snapped his fingers together as he remembered something important from yesterday.

The answer was vague to his audience until he reached into his back pack and pulled out the medallion. Now the colors that they pondered before made sense.

Making this more interesting was how the colors were arranged. While the green stayed in the middle of the medallion, it also prevented the red and blue from either touching each other.

"So this story is deeply rooted in Hoenn, huh?" Suggested Erica.

"Then I guess as Champion of Hoenn, I should see it through to the end." Answered the brunette confidently.

There wasn't much more distance to cover before running into Zinnia once more. She awaited her audience patiently.

"And now, let us finish this tale. My ancestors yearned for a deeper connection to Lord Rayquaza, so they learned more about mega evolution and would pass down the knowledge along a lineage of Lorekeepers." She stopped to glance at the painting before continuing.

"We would be the ones destined to find the solutions for our home. And even centuries ago, my predecessors predicted the oncoming threat of this meteoroid."

Illustrated by the painting, Rayquaza's action was only capped by Sky Pillar itself with people standing atop it.

Most people would erroneously assume that it could be an image of people harnessing the power of pokemon. But Brendan knew well that it represented the previous lorekeepers.

"And that is where the story comes to the events of recent. Can you fill in the holes from here?" Asked Zinnia playfully.

"Were you trying to resurrect the ancient pokemon to gain Rayquaza's attention?" Asked Brendan to which she nodded. "There must've been a better way."

Although that crisis was clearly averted, it was still wrong to have awoken such a dangerous force. And given all the knowledge of the Lorekeepers, there must've surely been a better alternative.

"Trust me, I wanted there to be a better one. But Lord Rayquaza hasn't been in Hoenn for some time now." Explained Zinnia with a factual attitude. "I needed something big to grab his attention. And I believe that it at least got part of his attention."

"Where has he been?" Asked the brunette. Groudon and Kyogre were present in Hoenn, but Rayquaza wasn't?

"A region to the west of here. I think that it was called...Kalos."

Initially, Brendan's eyes widened in surprise. But he came to the ultimate conclusion that Erica's region was more than coincidental in this whole ordeal.

Zinnia prepared to climb one more ladder to ascend even higher. Though it appeared as if this would be the last one and would lead directly to the summit of the tower.

"Explaining my actions today and returning the keystones is all that I am responsible of. You can rest easy knowing that I won't use them after this." Promised Zinnia.

"Are you trying to tell us to get lost?" Suggested Brendan.

"I'm saying that you're presence isn't necessary from here on out. But feel free to attend this with me."

Her invitation was given no clear response, leading her to the assumption that they didn't intend on following her. Taking that, Zinnia left to the top. She was well aware that they wouldn't stop her now.

Latios elicited surprise at his trainer's lack of response to Zinnia's answer. 'Aren't you going to follow her?'

'Yeah, I still need answers. But I also need a minute.' Answered the brunette before turning to his girlfriend.

"You know, this is a matter of Hoenn. So if you-"

"Just stop it." Interrupted Erica. "I'm your girlfriend, and being separated from you at such a time is out of the question."

Although the response sounded like she was scolding him, Brendan couldn't help but muster a grin at what Erica said.

"Alright then, let's go."

"Yeah."

The top of the Sky Pillar was unembellished in comparison to its interior. All that lied at the top was a flat platform in the shape of a triangle. Though anticlimactic, it certainly complimented the night sky.

Gazing up at said sky was both beautiful and troublesome. It was a clear sign that time was wearing thinner and thinner.

However, Zinnia didn't seem fazed at the state of things. All she did was stare up at the stars with Aster.

"There they are Aster. You always wanted to see the Litleonoids, didn't you?" Asked the girl, which was reciprocated with a happy nod. "And I see that you two came after all."

What made that statement odd was the tone of Zinnia's voice. Playful, taunting, and philosophical were all invalid descriptions. She seemed casual and conversational now.

"Come to see the show? I'm about to summon Lord Rayquaza. With all these keystones, it should be a great signal."

"Before you do that, I want you to explain one more thing to us." Demanded Erica with a professional tone.

That sound of carefully approaching the topic was met with a sigh of exhaustion. Zinnia swerved around away from her audience, irritated at their deviance from her plans thus far.

"What else do you want to know? Why Draconids have dark skin, where the Sootopolitans come in, or maybe you want to know why I didn't take your keystones?"

There was only a short silence that followed, Zinnia could clearly see that the both champions held indifferent stares that were slightly unnerving.

"Zinnia, who is Aster?"

Surprise caused those red eyes to shrink and that exhaustion to vanish. In it's place came pain.

In this moment, Brendan also felt a little surprised. He had no idea that the Whismur was so deeply rooted in all of this. But he understood that Erica wasn't talking about the little pokemon.

"So you figured it out." Said the girl with a face of slight pain and anger.

"Only partially. You are the only draconid who has a pokemon that is nothing like a dragon." Explained the blonde.

"Alright then, since you guys are this far, I guess I'll tell you."

...

"And as the behemoth and leviathan were banished to their prisons...the great savior, coaxed in emerald..."

Zinnia skimmed across the scroll set before her trying to study the ancient tale while sitting atop the cave of Meteor Falls. With a night sky above, her only light came from a lantern placed next to her.

Most would find the task set before her to absurdly strange and boring, not to Zinnia though. It was certainly something to behold. The lore of her people was simply fascinating, even if it wasn't easy to understand.

"Where would that light be coming from? How could Lord Rayquaza reach a new state of evolution without-"

Her pondering thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sounds of bare feet hitting the ground from behind. Being a little alert, she swerved around to see who it was.

Unexpectedly, the visitor was nothing more than a little girl with messy hair black hair. She shared dark skin and red eyes with Zinnia.

"One-san, you didn't come and get me." Said the little girl with a sad voice.

"Oh..sorry about that. I guess that I got carried away with studying." Apologized the lorekeeper before offering a seat.

Though a little reluctant, the girl ran over to Zinnia's side and sat down beside her. She smiled towards Zinnia.

"We can still watch the Litleonoids?" Asked the girl with a hopeful smile.

"Yes. There is still time that we can spend together, Aster."

Time started to become irrelevant after that point. Both girls stared up at the vast sky that was adorned by the thousands of bright dots. Every so often, one would streak across, and the two girls would make a wish upon that shooting star.

"What did you wish for Aster?" Asked Zinnia.

"I wished to find that cute pink pokemon that I saw today." Answered Aster with an upbeat tone. "Will I get to have that pokemon?"

Her older sister was a little reluctant to answer to that. Draconids could have been partnered with pokemon that weren't dragons or related to dragons before, but it took a lot of training and acceptance from the other clansmen to do so.

Zinnia couldn't bring herself to tell Aster that she wasn't likely to get that.

"Hopefully, you'll get to. I think that it'd be a great pokemon for somebody cute like you." Answered Zinnia before petting her little sister's head.

"What did you wish for One-san?"

"Me? Well," She turned up to the night sky with some fascination. "I wish that one day I can meet Rayquaza as a true Lorekeeper."

Aster didn't respond immediately, possibly out of repressed anger. So much of Zinnia's time was invested in being the Lorekeeper; she wasn't always able to be there for her sister.

Despite that though, there was nothing but love for the elder of the two.

"Then I also wish you get to meet Rayquaza and ride with that green light." Cheered the little girl happily.

Accepting that wish, Zinnia showed much joy.

Suddenly, an epiphany came to her. Acceptance of wishes and joy.

"Aster, can you wait here for a second? I need to write something down really quick."

"One-san, do you promise to come back?" Asked Aster sweetly and innocently.

"Of course, I'll be back in a second." Promised the older sister.

An accepting smile from the younger gave confirmation. Zinnia then proceeded to leave and write down these crucial thoughts before they were lost.

Hope illuminated in the mind of the Lorekeeper. With this information, she was close to a breakthrough. The understanding of an ancient evolution was on the horizon. She felt so elated about this.

But that elation should be shared with Aster. Her words, though coincidental, were the reason for this.

Zinnia wanted so much to share this happiness with her sister.

"If it weren't for my dear little sister...I owe her so much."

A shrieking sound grew closer and closer within mere seconds. Zinnia couldn't react quickly enough before a loud explosion roared, and she was sent sprawling back!

Coming to her senses, she looked in the direction of the sound and saw fire. Grief immediately began to fill her eyes as she realized.

"...Aster..."

No sense of caution or heed came to her as she ran over to the fire and looked down at the limp body that lay before her. Aster didn't move, not even a breath escaped her mouth.

Zinnia couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare. Even breathing seemed impossible for her. Gravity pulled her down and tears began to fall. The one thing that mattered most to her.

Now it was taken away.

"ASTER!"

...

Days went on and Zinnia walked around the cave that she had come to call home. Her eyes were lifeless and her skin was pale. Aster had died, and everything else started to become meaningless.

Being a lorekeeper now meant literally nothing to her. The one thing she loved the most would never come back.

" **Puwa?** "

Zinnia looked down to see it, that same pink pokemon that Aster desired so much. It looked up to her with worried eyes, but all she could see was the future that would never be.

Unconsciously, she leaned down and picked up the pokemon into a hug. The tears silently returned to her face. The pokemon's cries begged for her to stop crying.

...

"I loved her so much. I wanted to be with her, but I lost her. Because I was a Lorekeeper, I didn't keep her safe." Explained Zinnia.

Neither Brendan nor Erica could bring themselves to say anything after that explanation. Such a tragic tale was too devastating.

Aster also looked up to her trainer with a sorrowful expression. Perhaps she never really knew how she got that name, but the memory of that day was always with her.

"Sometimes I like to think that this child is Aster, reincarnated and always by my side. But I know better. The world is very cruel. I want to see her again so much."

This was different from anything thus far. Sadness like this wasn't taunting, playful, or philosophical; it was genuine sadness. Zinnia didn't seem like a bad person at all anymore. Rather, she looked like somebody trapped in her own prison.

All those actions. All those people she stepped on. It was all for this one moment.

Taking all of this in, Brendan approached her calmly.

"And you think that Aster wanted you to do this?" Asked the brunette.

Slowly, Zinnia nodded her head with no chance of faltering. "She wanted me to ride upon Lord Rayquaza and protect this region."

"I don't mean that. Did she really want you to become this kind of person that so many people would hate?"

Brendan had taken some consideration in his statement. Although the previous tale of suffering and tragedy changed how this girl could be viewed, it didn't change the actions she had committed.

A desire to fulfill her sibling's wish drove her to steal from others and make them hate her along with awakening the beasts her people sought to suppress. Gravity weighed down Zinnia's eyes as she looked to the ground.

"I can't say if Aster wanted me to become like this. But I know that I will not turn back on this, I've come too far to realize my little sister's wish."

Determination flared in her red eyes as she faced her inquirer again. A flick of the ankles and her cape flapping signaled that her involvement with this conversation was over.

That same tactic again, using her determined eyes to pierce through what anyone would say. Using the arguments that many would find too difficult to fight against.

But Brendan didn't show signs of giving up either. Her philosophies and logic didn't appear so big anymore.

"I won't let you do that, Zinnia."

His proclamation reached her and she stopped. "Why should you care?"

Brendan stepped up to answer. "If you keep following this path, you'll definitely meet a harsh ending. You might even die."

It would be just like the teams that aimed to change the world in ways that only they saw fit. Zinnia, however, chose to ignore this.

"And how do you intend to stop me if I refuse?"

"I'll take those keystones from you. Can't summon your lord without them, right?" A cocky grin spread across his face.

His threat wasn't empty; the only reason that she evaded capture before was because of philosophies that couldn't be refuted. All of that was ineffective to Brendan now.

Turning back, Zinnia clearly displayed irritation at the champion.

"Let's make this fair. Latios and I will fight you and any pokemon you chose. One on one. If we lose, then you do what you want. But if we win, you step aside and let me handle this." Extending his hand out, Brendan intended to keep his word.

A sigh escaped Zinnia as she measured her options. Literally, this was the best choice. If Brendan didn't take the keystones, then Erica would. She took the hand and shook it.

Erica watched this whole event unfold with a great sense of pride. Her boyfriend truly had come a long way from a headstrong idiot who only wanted to surpass one man.

That pride in Brendan caused her to not interfere and let him take care of this.

'I'm really glad that I got to watch you grow.' Thought the girl with a grateful smile.

The irritation that Zinnia once held was overshadowed by her desire to defeat Brendan now. Pulling out a pokeball she released the Salamence that she had used earlier.

"I'll warn you. Salamence was my first pokemon. Not even Latios would be a good choice to battle against him." Proclaimed the girl.

"That's alright. We're still gonna win. Right, Latios?" Brendan turned back to his dragon partner.

'Yeah, I've got you're back in this.' Latios boasted a confident face that reflected his trainer's.

No sooner than that did Zinnia touch the keystone on her anklet and mega evolved Salamence.

The dragon became sleeker in appearance with wings merging into each other to form a crescent shape and the forelegs folding for an aerodynamic body. It's underside became a blazing red along with the six fins in front becoming sharper.

Although this appearance was a promise of more power, it also didn't appear as intimidating before.

'I'm getting excited for this.' Said Latios.

'Alright then, let's go!' Brendan touched his keystone and invoked Latios's mega evolution. The blue dragon became purple once more.

"Dragon pulse!" Said the champion.

Latios backed up and fired his beam attack at Salamence, but the pseudo legendary proved to be very adept in the sky. It quickly maneuvered around the attack without any command.

"Thunderfang!" Commanded Zinnia, Mega Salamence rushed in and bit down on Latios's mid section with electricity.

The attack wasn't nearly effective, and the two separated in the air.

'We've still gotta keep our distance. There is no telling what we are up against here.' Said Brendan. 'Use psychic.'

'Got it.' Latios shared in his trainer's tactics and continued attack from afar.

Unlike the last attack, this one was effective and damaged Salamence. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough power to make a difference. Silent talking wouldn't prove that much of an advantage in this battle.

"Salamence use take down!" The blue and red dragon rocketed towards Latios with tremendous force. So powerful was the attack that Latios was gasping for air.

'What's wrong?'

'I don't know, but that was really powerful.' Answered the legendary pokemon.

Brendan came to the conclusion that his opponent was now faster and much stronger physically. Because thunderfang wasn't powerful enough on it's own, he assumed that only certain moves were affected.

"Does Salamence now have a new ability or something?" Asked the brunette.

"Yep, now normal type moves become flying type and receive a massive power up." Zinnia beckoned for her dragon to come to her. It did and she hopped onto it.

"Let's continue fighting elsewhere, I don't want to damage Sky Pillar."

Salamence then zoomed off with Zinnia atop. Clever reasoning on her part; she knew full well that Brendan was too hot headed to simply give up on something like this. Admittedly, she could tell that Aster wanted to go with her. But she couldn't risk the Whismur getting hurt.

Now left on the tower without her trainer, Aster looked sad.

'Let's go!' Said Brendan.

Latios immediately understood what to do and flew down for hero to jump on. Erica rushed over to him before they took off.

"Are you going to tell me not to die again?" Asked the brunette.

"No, silly. Iknow better. Just promise me that you won't lose this fight." Answered the blonde.

"Yeah, you got it. Let's go, Latios!"

The two took off after Zinnia and Salamence. As she watched the two fly further off to catch up, Erica silently wished that she could join them.

'But he's the hero now.'

Just as she had done in Sky Pillar, the Lorekeeper patiently awaited for her enemy. But there wouldn't be any formalities this time around.

"Attack with crunch!" Salamence rushed forward to bite down on Latios again.

Instinct from before helped the legendary dragon to work around that. However, having Brendan atop him slowed him down, and he was struck. Retaliating, Latios knocked his opponent off.

"Use power split." Said Brendan.

Latios employed psychic powers to even the power between him and Salamence. This was certainly a risky maneuver. Even though the opponent's attack was going to be lowered, his was going to be as well.

"I thought that you always ran into things head first." Commented Zinnia.

"Battle is the place that I am best in." Retorted Brendan loudly. "Let's give them a zen headbutt!"

"Fire fang!"

Both dragons charged towards each other quickly. Latios succeeded in impacting hard against Salamence but risked letting his head get bit as a result.

Their trainer's struggled against the forces to stay atop. In a few moments, Brendan succeeded in balancing himself. It was scary to Zinnia, realizing how quickly he appeared to adapt to the battle.

That wasn't the only thing scary during the battle.

Brendan's vision started to grow weary; and his responses were starting to slow down, as well. 'We've got to finish this battle quickly.'

'What's wrong?'

'I'm just getting weaker.' Said the boy. He stared Zinnia down as they both knew which attack would come next.

"Dragon claw!"

The mega dragons rushed towards each other with incredible speed. Their claws radiated with draconic force and they a dance of dodging and slashing ensued in the sky. Despite their trainer's being atop their backs, they seemed just as agile as ever.

Latios managed to shove his claws right into Salamence's, locking the two together. He then immediately slammed his head into Salamence's.

"Luster purge!" Said Brendan.

Channeling the energy to his head, Latios released the attack right onto Salamence. Zinnia was forced to cover her eyes from the radiance. The tide of the battle was shifting.

Brendan and Latios backed away and prepared for whatever came next. Strategy revolved around whatever choices that Zinnia was going to make for this battle.

"You can't understand." Muttered the Draconid with a tinge of anger. "This pain I feel. My love for Aster has driven me thus far."

"Maybe I don't, but I don't think that you do either!" Yelled the champion.

All of the pent up frustration and anger came to the surface for Zinnia. The predictions that she made about Brendan and Erica being huge problems in her plan were true.

"You are really annoying. Hyper beam!"

Salamence charged up the massive force of destruction before releasing it through its maw.

"Latios, use dragon pulse!"

Responding in kind, the legendary dragon shot his own beam towards the hyper beam and the two clashed with a resounding clash. Unexpectedly, the dragon pulse seemed to evenly match hyper beam in its absurdly massive power.

Beams pushed back and forth against each other until Salamence was breaking through.

'Don't give in Latios!'

Suddenly, power fluctuated into Latios. He could feel confidence, trust, and power surging through him from Brendan. It made him stronger. His pushed back further and further until overcoming Salamence in a glorious glare.

Such an attack led to victory as the pseudo legendary lost its mega form. This could've been counted as a complete victory, if it wasn't for the fact that Zinnia and Salamence were now falling.

The option to summon another dragon to help her didn't come into mind. She was far too shocked by this loss.

As the air passed across her body faster and faster, images of Aster flashed back to her. The time that they spent in their little house, watching different pokemon, promising for the future, and that dreadful moment.

All of that mattered so much to her. She wanted nothing more now than to see the one she had lost. Now that one desire could be fulfilled now.

'Aster...can I see you again?'

The answer came to her as a hand, obscured by light, reached out to her. Zinnia had no other desire than to grab that hand as she reached for it.

But then the hand quickly grabbed her. Light faded and she could clearly see that it was Brendan who had saved her. Surprise brought her back as she now realized what this meant. All along, Brendan was full of hope; just like Aster.

Brendan's mouth moved with the intent to say something, but she couldn't hear it entirely.

"What?"

"I said, call Salamence back before he hits the ground!"

Everything came back to Zinnia before she pulled the pokeball and retrieved her pokemon. That was a close call.

With the battle now decided, Latios lost his mega evolved state and took Brendan and Zinnia back to the summit of the tower. Though the latter appeared reluctant and confused.

"Why did you save me?" Asked the girl with some shame. "I've caused you a lot of pain."

"Because I'm sure that it's what Aster would've wanted."

Logic seemed absent in that answer, there was no way that Brendan could've ever met with Aster. He didn't even know about her before today.

"How would you know?"

"I just know that our loved ones always care about us. They never want us to feel pain, even if it is for their own sake."

As Brendan answered that, he looked back on the time that he resented being weaker than his father. Only after fighting him did he understand how much his parent always cared about him. And how much he awaited to be surpassed.

Being told that affirmed what Zinnia saw in Brendan earlier.

She remembered how much her sibling cared for and loved her in spite of all the time she spent as a Lorekeeper. Aster always forgave her for not always being there, and would patiently await her sister's return.

"...Thank you Brendan." Said the girl quietly.

An overconfident or humorous response could've been inserted. But Brendan felt it better not to say anything.

"Well I'm glad to...know that...I...was..."

The champion was starting to lose control again. His vision began to fade rapidly, sound became distant, and even the fur on Latios couldn't be felt.

Although the sense of feeling was fading, there was something that he could feel.

Slipping.

Brendan slid off of Latios, and much to everyone's horror, he began to plummet to the ocean below.

"What...why am...I...?" His vision faded entirely along with all of his senses.

 **5 hours...nutes and...6 seconds...til impact...**

* * *

Man, playing Pokémon Blue is so awesome. And with Sun and Moon on the way, there is so- Wait, was that being written down?

...

Thank you everybody so much for reading this chapter, hope you liked it. Please leave a review if there is anything that you want to say about this one. I'll get started on the next chapter tomorrow, but for right now it is time for some more old school Pokémon games!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Otherwise, I would've told Masuda to say that only 7 new Pokémon have been promised for Sun and Moon.

"Speech"

'Thought'

* * *

Darkness and numbness were all that Brendan could feel. Memory slowly crept back to him, and he could piece together what had happened.

"Latios and I...we fought against Zinnia and won...?" The memories were returning to him slowly. Then he was reminded of his fall.

The fact that he had fallen off of Latios didn't seem all that surprising to Brendan. A feeling of carelessness glazed over and prevented any worry.

"...But shouldn't I be worrying? Am I dead because of that?"

Numbness and darkness started to fade as his senses returned. The ground felt hard beneath him, and water that clung to his clothes and skin. Color flooded his sight as he could see the blue sky.

Brendan's head rolled over to see that Erica was staring back at it with some worry. She lunged in and hugged him with some relief. Although a loving action, it stirred up some pain in his back.

"Thank goodness you're ok." Said the blonde as she hugged him tightly.

"What happened?" Groaned the boy.

"You fell off of Latios." His sight turned again to see Zinnia with an expression of indifference. Perhaps she hadn't found the proper response to give to him just yet.

"If your Swampert didn't come out to take the impact for you in the water you'd be dead." Explained the Draconid.

Natural recovery gave the brunette the strength to prop himself up after his girlfriend let go. The only pokemon present was his Swampert in the corner, who was resting.

"Aqua saved me?" The Swampert had always pulled through for his trainer when necessary.

Brendan gave a grin to his exhausted starter pokemon. "Heh...thanks buddy."

A silent smirk did appear on the face of the water-ground pokemon; he was too tired to show any other signs of happiness. That was a powerful impact that he had to take.

Zinnia looked down towards Aster, who was shivering. Obviously, the tiny pokemon knew about the possible death of her trainer and was very sad.

But there was also a happy smile. the Whismur was so happy that Zinnia was still alive.

Seeing her pokemon like this put the Draconid girl in an emotional state. This pokemon wasn't the sister she loved, but she still cared for her. She leaned down and hugged the Whismur.

"I'm sorry that I almost left you and all of my pokemon." Whispered the girl with sorrow. A tear rolled down her cheek yet again.

But this time, Aster reached up and wiped it off. That kindness rekindled joy into Zinnia's eyes.

'Aster...I know that I might not get to see you again. But I promise now, I will always try to stay alive for your sake too.'

Brendan struggled for a few seconds to stand back up. His girlfriend was more than willing to help him up.

"Why did I fall off?" Asked the boy.

"Dunno. But I guess that you needed some sleep after all of today." Explained the girl with a shrug of her shoulders.

An embarrassing blush spread across Brendan's face. This day had truly been a humiliating experience for him. Sleeping was indeed necessary, but that would best be saved for nighttime.

That moment of embarrassment fleeted when he realized that it was no longer night, but a clear day.

Panicking, he straightened his body for the situation.

"What time is it?!"

"I'd say about six in the morning. The meteoroid isn't here yet, but it is getting realy close." Answered Zinnia as she put on a calm expression.

Time was of the essence, and it was fading fast. But seeing all the trouble that she had put this guy through today, Zinnia understood if he needed a few more moments to rest.

That's why it was surprising when he pushed through the pain of his aching body. Such an action placed further concern in Erica.

"You sure that you can do this?" Asked the blonde.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I've been hit harder." Wheezed Brendan.

Erica smiled because she knew that that was a bad lie. But Brendan was stubborn and he didn't want to let that rock hit Hoenn. So she let him continue.

"Zinnia, please summon Rayquaza. I'm ready to destroy the meteoroid." Demanded the Champion of Hoenn.

The surprise on Zinnia's face was quickly replaced by a happy smile. Brendan felt like that was a clear sign that she was a friend now.

"Ok then. I suppose that you have something to help you ride into the atmosphere?" Proposed the girl.

"Yeah, my passion." Answered the brunette.

"And the Magma Suit that he has." Corrected Erica.

Zinnia laughed a little at this. Those two really did make a good couple.

Close to the edge of Sky Pillar was a tablet with several dome indents; there were six in total. Zinnia took out all the keystones that she had collected thus far and placed them into the holes.

When the six rainbow-colored gems were positioned correctly they formed the shape of a delta. A small light began to glimmer from each of them.

Zinnia backed up, clasped her hands together, and kneeled. Her position looked akin to one who was praying. She began to speak a chant.

"With jewel bright and borrowed might from the spirits departed...Through sacred rite, in thy great sight my life as well I offer..."

The light began to shine brighter from the six keystones as well as the one that Zinnia possessed. Her body began to show physical stress as the air around her began to shake.

"I summon thee...to aid us...in this fight...and save us from...this disaster..."

Strength began to fade from the girl's body, and she was beginning to lose consciousness. Will alone wouldn't be enough to complete this. Perhaps this wasn't something that she could accomplish on her own.

That's when Brendan and Erica stepped in. They placed their hands upon her shoulders and encouraged her.

"Don't stop now!"

"We believe in you Zinnia!"

A momentary startle stopped her and almost made her lose concentration all together. But this encouragement from the ones that she had pained pushed her forward.

"Realize them...upon this world!...Realize them, for I summon thee..." She broke her stance and looked up to the sky. "Rayquaazzaaa!"

Suddenly, the air stopped shaking and everything appeared calm for a few seconds. Some doubt in Brendan's mind made him think that the ritual wasn't done correctly.

That doubt was quickly erased as the sky grew dark. Unlike the phenomenon caused by Groudon and Kyogre, this felt sacred and empowering. Darkness started to part above the summit and a light of emerald shone down from the sky.

A darkened green silhouette danced down slowly before the trainers. It descended before them atop the summit of Sky Pillar and let out a fierce roar. In doing so the sky returned to its previous state and the pokemon was clear to see.

"Is...is that..." Brendan struggled to find the correct words in his amazed state.

"Rayquaza..." Zinnia's face was awestruck at the appearance of her savior.

The afformentioend savior was the form of a serpentine dragon with no legs. It's elongated body was marked by red lined fins and a set of yellow circles along both sides. Four fins around its head vaguely resembled the fins of a missile.

Rayquaza's yellow eyes contrasted well against it's green scales. Those same eyes also seemed to stun Zinnia from saying anything, it was almost as if she was being judged. Though her fear was quickly overshadowed by feelings of success.

"I...we did it!" Cheered the girl. "Now the world can be saved; the disaster will be averted!"

She turned around with a happy expression like it was her birthday. Admittedly, this didn't last long enough because she realized that it would be Brendan who would take the challenge.

It was certainly bittersweet, but Brendan was right about her. Only he now had the right to ride upon Rayquaza. One deep breath and she bowed down to the dragon.

"Alright then, Lord Rayquaza, please take your mega evolution." Begged the Draconid girl.

Brendan tensed up when he heard that. He gazed upon the magnificent serpent in anticipation. If the wishes and desires were enough then the wish of Zinnia, Erica, and he should've been able to do it.

'Alright then, Rayquaza, please help us.' The brunette closed his eyes and tried to send his wishes towards the legendary pokemon as well.

Seconds passed...but nothing happened.

Zinnia looked back up in hopes of glimpsing the mega evolved dragon, but she saw none of that. Rayquaza remained motionless as it looked down to the three trainers.

Denial pushed the Draconid forward and she prayed again that her savior would take upon its form, which only hurt her more when nothing happened again. She tried harder and harder, but to no avail.

A low groan echoed from Rayquaza; it gazed sympathetically upon Zinnia's trusting form.

Although he couldn't understand it, Brendan could tell that the dragon was apologizing. It knew that it couldn't mega evolve.

"Lord Rayquaza, please...you have to." Pleaded Zinnia pathetically. Energy started to flee from her, and depression chained her down.

For the first time, Brendan could see that Zinnia didn't know what to do. He felt sorrow and sympathy for her.

'This is...just wrong. Sure she's done some bad things, but still...she was trying to save us. And this...'

Again and again, the brunette tried to explain to himself that this was a mistake. He hoped that this was only a dream and that he would soon wake up. But he knew all to well that this was the painful reality.

Thankfully, he wouldn't have to shoulder this burden all alone.

"Don't get down guys. I know what he needs." Attention directed towards Erica.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the case with the meteorite in it before removing the rock. Initially, Brendan and Zinnia didn't understand what she had planned. Erica walked up to Zinnia and handed it to her.

"What?"

"Just give it to Rayquaza, I think that he'll understand what to do." Said Erica.

While the command seemed vague, Zinnia trusted what the Kalos Champion was saying. She stood back up and presented the meteorite to her savior.

Rayquaza leaned down to examine the offering. Then he quickly snatched it from the young girl and consumed it. Then light emanated from the yellow lines around its slender body.

The yellow eyes of the dragon now looked down upon the humans with enthusiasm. It was obvious that Rayquaza was now ready to evolve.

"Erica-chan, how did you know?" Asked Brendan who was baffled.

"Well, I noticed how a meteorite in the past was responsible for Rayquaza mega evolving in the first place. I could only assume that another one could allow him to do it again." She shrugged her shoulders as she gave the explanation.

Now it made sense. Rayquaza drew energy from the meteorites. A lack of them in Hoenn drove it to search other skies for possible meteorites to charge the power.

A laugh started to come from Zinnia. This was so ironic, but it still felt so good and right.

"Thank you guys. I feel like this is a true sign that I wasn't destined to ride Lord Rayquaza after all." Said the Draconid girl with a trace of remorse.

"Don't get down about it. You still managed to summon him right?" Said Brendan in an effort to cheer her up.

In silent thanks, Zinnia smiled at her new friend's gesture. This affirmed the fact that he was the one who would carry their wishes.

Making haste with the amount of time that was left, Brendan retrieved Aqua and placed all of his pokemon aside; there wouldn't be anyway to battle with them up there. He donned the Magma Suit and prepared himself for the ride up.

He knew that breathing wouldn't be easy once he got closer to orbit. What he wasn't aware of was that the ride up would exert a Wailord load of pressure. Hopefully, the suit would be enough to get him past all that and destroy the meteoroid.

'But the mega evolution...I'm not sure that I'll be able to do that.'

While Erica had learned quickly how to perform mega evolution multiple times, Brendan still struggled with doing it more than once. He had already evolved Latios and could already tell that his ability to conjure up the power was spotty, at best.

This would be made even harder by the fact that he had only just met Rayquaza and had yet to form a bond. He would have to try harder than ever to achieve this.

"Brendan-kun," He turned over to see that Erica donned the Aqua Suit and held her helmet. "I'm coming with you too."

Without saying anything, he walked over to her and noticed something about the helmet that she held. The yellow glass was cracked, and many of the buttons were damaged; she couldn't go.

"You should stay here." Insisted the brunette.

"Brendan-kun."

"Your helmet is cracked, there's no way that you'll make it without getting hurt."

"Well, I'll just find a way!"

Erica's face showed frustration and denial at her boyfriend's concern. But instead of arguing back, Brendan began to chuckle a little in response.

"What's so funny?"

"You just sounded like me." Said the happy brunette.

All that previous determination to follow him was washed away by a bashful face. The blonde champion couldn't deny that she did sound just like Brendan just then.

Perhaps instead of just him learning from her, he rubbed off on her as well.

Being comforting, Brendan placed his forehead against Erica's. She wouldn't reject this comforting gesture. It was probably the one thing she wanted more than anything.

"Why do you always have to go?"

"Dunno. But I do know that I want to protect this place and you."

A small laugh escaped Erica's lips before she connected them with Brendan's for a few seconds. It felt like she was passing on her tenacity to his passion. They broke and Erica looked deeply into Brendan's eyes.

"I don't want you to die."

"Then just promise me that you won't forgive me if I do." Brendan flashed a huge happy grin at his girlfriend.

"Well, then I'll give you this."

Erica undid the gloves on her hands and reached over to her mega ring. Holding onto it, she seemed to conjure up some sort of energy from it. Her left hand connected with Brendan's right wrist and his bracelet glimmered a little.

"This will help you." Promised the blonde.

"I'll give you a hand, too." Zinnia placed her hand on the keystone of her mega anklet and drew out some energy; she placed it on Brendan's mega bracelet.

The lights conjured together and caused the white accessory to glow faintly. Accomplishment spread across the brunette's mind. He could feel that he was carrying the hopes and wishes of his friends.

It didn't end there. As if responding to Brendan's thoughts about a bond, Rayquaza hovered over and offered a place on its head. Its yellow eyes displayed trust for the boy.

"I think you've already earned Lord Rayquaza's trust, Brendan." Said Zinnia with some surprise; she had no idea that it was this trusting of people.

"But you need to trust in Rayquaza; he is going to use Dragon Ascent which is so dangerous to him. It is powerful, but it shouldn't be used too much."

Brendan had a small hunch that Rayquaza had its own move. If it would be anything like Groudon's Precipice Blades, then it would most certainly be powerful.

He glanced over to those yellow eyes. It felt like they always knew about Brendan and awaited for their meeting. Confidence in this gave him the trust he needed.

"Alright then, I trust you too Rayquaza." Said the brunette before placing on his helmet and gloves. Although the glove was covering his mega bracelet, he could still feel the light brimming. He gave both girls one last glance before closing the helmet.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll be back soon."

Brendan boarded Rayquaza, and they both looked back at Aster, Zinnia, and Erica before the green dragon pointed its head to the sky. Tightening his grip, Brendan prepared himself.

They rocketed off of Sky Pillar with a flash of green light going ever faster with so much power. The trail of emerald light started to disappear from view as they picked up speed

Faster.

Blue started to vanish from the sky; all that could be seen was the cosmos and the stars. Brendan could feel the forces pushing back against him as they kept going even higher. He held on with all of his might.

Faster.

But the mega bracelet was out of his hand's reach. How would he achieve the evolution? As the forces pushed down on him, Brendan pushed back even harder. He had come too far now.

There were simply too many people counting on him for this.

And Brendan would not let them down.

'I...I can...I will do it!'

Energy of a rainbow light erupted from Brendan. The energy surrounded Rayquaza, and it transcended to its magnificent mega evolution.

"Yeah, alright! Let's do this, Rayquaza!"

The green dragon, now longer, sharper, adorned with streaks of gold, and bearing the symbol of Delta, shot forward even faster as Brendan cheered it on.

There wasn't much left to go before the meteoroid could be seen. Its fall was becoming faster and starting to catch fire.

"There it is, that's the meteoroid!"

Descending even more rapidly, the giant rock was approaching the duo even faster. Brendan knew that this was it; this is were history would be made.

"You can do it! Use Dragon Ascent!"

Rayquaza shot forward with more energy than ever before and pierced the meteoroid! It was flooded with the emerald light before exploding and sent small debris flying in every direction.

Brendan looked up at the calm cosmos before him. The ascent was so exhilarating that he barely noticed it. Such a calm sight gave him the reassurance he was looking for.

The crisis was over.

"We did! Way to go Rayquaza, you really are a savior!" Cheered Brendan, despite the fact that the dragon couldn't really hear him.

Even though the protagonist felt that everything was over, Rayquaza didn't appear so calm. Moving its head, the legendary pokemon turned its attention towards one of the fragments of the meteoroid.

Brendan too looked at the black shard. Something about it didn't seem right. That one didn't fly away like the other parts of the meteoroid. It was even bigger than the rest of the debris. What was even more ominous was how it was perfectly shaped as a black triangle.

"What is that?" Asked Brendan. He could feel some vibes of uncertainty.

Then, without warning, the black triangle began to move. Gravity failed to pull it down as it would fly up and then back down at its own leisure.

As it continued the erratic and curious movements the black triangle gained a hue of red, almost like blood.

"Rayquaza, try to keep on guard here." Brendan patted the head of the dragon to keep it calm. Though he was stating what the dragon was already doing.

But the worst had yet to come. Four tentacle appendages sprouted from the triangle. They drooped and rose at a steady and haunting rate. All of the sudden, they twisted and the triangle shattered.

"Nani?"

Out of the shard rose a humanoid orange and blue being with a purple gem in the center of its body. The DNA pokemon, Deoxys.

Suddenly, the alien pokemon thrust itself forward towards Rayquaza and Brendan. The former of the two twisted its body around to dodge before roaring back instinctively.

An odd surge of anger and irritation started to well up inside Brendan, but they weren't his emotions. They felt foreign, yet familiar.

"Rayquaza, are these your feelings?" Questioned the boy. Somehow the dragon actually heard him and acknowledged this.

A flick of those fierce eyes appeared as a confident affirmation to him.

Curious as to what this meant, Brendan turned over to Deoxys. He saw that it was patiently watching them, and it had some haunting vibe to it; the same haunting vibe that they got from the meteoroid.

Whatever Deoxys truly was, it meant to destroy.

"Alright then, I understand what we need to do." Proclaimed Brendan as he and the dragon faced Deoxys. "Let's beat this guy and protect our home!"

Accepting the challenge, the DNA pokemon rushed forward and attacked with zen headbutt.

"Take him on Rayquaza!"

The pokemon collided into each other with tremendous force. Rayquaza's sheer power and mega evolved state gave it the advantage, and it began to push Deoxys back.

Continuing to struggle against its opponent, Deoxys began to twitch its head around. This gesture was peculiar and made it look like the pokemon was computing data.

"What are you doing now?" Asked the irritated brunette.

As if answering, the pokemon changed its form by becoming much sharper and thinner. All of a sudden, Rayquaza was starting to be pushed back by Deoxys before it was knocked back altogether.

'Crap, that form must've boosted his power.' Thought Brendan. "Attack with dragon pulse!"

The delta dragon fired the attack and managed to hit Deoxys with no issues. The attack literally blew off a whole chunk of its right side.

Initially, Brendan felt bad about that attack, but no changes in Rayquaza's emotion pushed him to stay on guard.

A good choice because Deoxys instantaneously regenerated its arm and missing torso chunk. It decided to pay Rayquaza back with a psybeam attack.

'Was that recover?...No, it was way faster...That guy managed to make new body parts for himself.' Deduced Brendan. "Charge forth!"

The delta dragon flew towards Deoxys with quick speed, but the alien pokemon anticipated this. It changed again by slimming down its body even further and quickly spun around the Rayquaza but not entirely.

"Dragon tail!"

Right as Rayquaza almost passed by, it swung its massive tail into Deoxys and launched it away. Brendan took notice of how Deoxys was launched incredibly far.

'That form must not be good on defense.'

Deoxys quickly rushed back and changed back into its sharper form before unleashing a wave of power psychic energy on both Brendan and Rayquaza.

It was a very painful attack for Brendan to take on, but he felt something odd about it while it occurred.

'What is this?' The sensation of pain and intrigue paralyzed him from making any decisions.

Rayquaza saw no other option than to lead Brendan away to minimize the pain. The moment that happened, Deoxys tried to dive through the atmosphere to Hoenn.

Seeing this instantly pushed Brendan to disregard his pain.

"No, go back! I'll be fine!"

The sky titan knew better, however it understood the importance of protecting Hoenn and darted back towards the opponent. "Use crunch!"

Deoxys quickly noticed its oncoming blitz and changed into another form. This time its body thickened and grew more round. Rayquaza's attack connected, but it couldn't do nearly enough damage.

"Gotcha!"

Brendan leapt forward while Rayquaza had the alien pinned down and punched it right in the face. In response, Deoxys slammed its tentacle into the boy's torso.

The force knocked him back a little but he was able to grab onto the fins on Rayquaza's head. That force carried the same feeling that he experienced earlier. It was obvious that it was no coincidence.

'There it is again, what is that feeling?'

Probably by accident, Deoxys was transmitting an eerie sensation to Brendan repeatedly. It broke out of Rayquaza's maw and made some distance before regenerating again.

"This guy sure knows how to fight really hard." Commented the brunette. "But I think we're getting through to him."

His partner nodded and glared at their opponent menacingly, who seemed to glare back equally with its blank eyes.

From the peak of Sky Pillar, Erica and Zinnia looked up to the big blue sky. It had been more than a few minutes since Brendan and Rayquaza had vanished from sight, so there was obviously something wrong.

"What's going on up there? He should've finished by now." Remarked Zinnia.

"He's fighting with something." Answered Erica in a deep tone.

Disbelief was painted on the Draconid's face when she turned to the blonde.

"How are you sure?"

"I just know, that's what Brendan does." Explained Erica. "Whatever force sent that meteoroid hasn't given up yet."

Zinnia dipped her head in deep concentration. "I wonder, why are these events folding out now?"

Erica glanced over with a hint of concern for a few moments. She grasped her special gemstone and gripped it tightly.

"I can't say for certain, but maybe the legendary pokemon were waiting for people with tenacity, determination, and passion like us. Perhaps they need us to move things forward with them."

Looking back up to the sky, the Tenacious Fighter felt irritance at her inability to come and helping the one she loved. All she could do was hope and believe that Brendan would prevail.

Back above the stratosphere, Deoxys shifted back into its sharp form and collided its right tentacles with Rayquaza's dragon claw. The two were on par in power this time.

"Crap, why is this so hard?" Asked Brendan to himself.

There was no doubt in his mind that Rayquaza was powerful enough to take on Groudon and Kyogre in there primal states. So he was left baffled as to why it was struggling against just one pokemon.

'I know that Zinnia said that Dragon Ascent is some kind of one shot deal, but I didn't know that it would only work that-'

It then hit Brendan what was going on, Rayquaza probably hadn't used this form in decades. This power, while not new, was still hard to readjust to. Not to mention that it had to fight against gravity all the way up into orbit and Dragon Ascent must've had some lowering its power.

If any of those factors didn't occur then the battle wouldn't be so difficult.

'And that guy must be able to change its stats with each form.' Thought the brunette.

He rationalized after seeing all of those forms that the sharper one is for attack, the thicker one is for defense, and the slimmer one is for speed. That left the original form as some kind of balanced state.

Deoxys shook the boy out of his thoughts by mega punching Rayquaza in the torso. The attack was far from super effective, but it was certainly enough to cause some damage.

Brendan didn't have enough time to come up with another strategy after being whisked out of concentration.

"Dragon claw!"

From a mile away, the alien could see that the dragon prepared to slice through it, so it countered with another mega punch.

They struggled against one another before Rayquaza got the upper hand and knocked Deoxys back.

"Now use dragon pulse!"

Seizing upon the moment, a purple beam erupted from the delta dragon and blasted off a chunk of Deoxys again. What surprised Brendan was that it was still in its attack form. Switching over to the defense form would've been more effective.

Deoxys twitched in possible pain before regenerating part of its body again. Brendan noticed something crucial in the pokemon's eyes: stress.

'I get it, he can make new body parts, but that still costs energy.' Thought the boy with a smirk. There was now a chance, albeit a steep one.

"Rayquaza, use extremespeed!"

The sky titan rushed forward with incredible speed. Deoxys responded by changing into its speed form and rushing towards Rayquaza with even greater speed. The pokemon clashed and flew in the edge of the atmosphere with great speed while Brendan held onto his as best as he could.

Surprisingly, Deoxys was shying away from being on the offensive; it was starting to evade its opponents. It made that evident when it dashed away from them.

"Men don't run, use dragon pulse!" Said Brendan.

Rayquaza fired the beam and Deoxys only barely managed to dodge it with its left leg being annihilated by the attack. The descent stopped there, and Deoxys started to ascend upward.

The leg grew back in an instant, and the alien reverted to its original form before turning to face Brendan and Rayquaza.

Although its expression remained virtually the same, something about those eyes seemed to be glaring at the trainer and legendary pokemon.

"Hey, don't get mad at us. You tried to run away like a coward." Joked the boy with a hint of pride. However, Rayquaza remained vigilant for whatever action would come next.

Deoxys combined the tentacles on each side of its body and eerily created two human-esque arms. It then directed both arms towards its enemies before unleashing a wave of orange psychic aura, psycho boost.

Such a powerful attack caused Rayquaza to flail in pain, but it wasn't suffering alone. Brendan felt a lot of the pain, as well.

However, in this attack Brendan could clearly see what he failed to comprehend earlier. That odd feeling started to become more vivid until it flooded his senses.

'Is this guy trying to show me something?'

In the psychic wave, he could clearly see a depiction of the world destroyed. Fire engulfed forests and towns while mountains and cities were flooded.

Brendan couldn't form any response when he saw the Radio Tower of Goldenrod collapsing along with the rest of the city in a tsunami. The pain only intensified when he saw Littleroot Town burn down to nothing.

As if he was there Brendan tried to run to his house for fear of his mother and father, but the collapsing building only got further and further away from him.

His legs gave out just like his will did upon seeing that.

"W-Why? Why is this happening?"

Despair only gripped his heart more before the scene changed once more to where the land met with the sea. He could clearly see two beings fighting.

Groudon and Kyogre raged their battle against each other as primal beings. Rayquaza was also there, trying to quell this battle as best as it could. But it was without mega evolution and didn't stand a chance.

The primal pokemon turned their attention to Rayquaza before engulfing it in attacks. The power overwhelmed the dragon before detonating around him.

Falling without grace, the light of life died from the dragon's eyes before being crushed by the ground and washed away by water.

The world shook and fell into calamity as the two titans resumed their battle. Hopelessly watching was all that Brendan could manage.

"But...we stopped them. Those guys didn't get to battle each other!"

Answering to his outburst, the ephemeral plane changed to depict Mt. Pyre where the Magma and Aqua balls sealed. Time seemed to pass at an alarming rate before he could see Groudon and Kyogre being freed from their prison and resume fighting. He was not aware that they were there.

"Did Erica-chan know about that?"

The image before him reset to the current time, but something different was about to occur. A loud rumbling filled the brunette's ears as a giant meteoroid fell onto it. A destructive explosion erupted from the impact.

A force dragged Brendan away from the explosion that decimated everything in Hoenn. Leaving the champion with heavy eyes of concentration.

Somehow, this was coming together for him.

"...I get it now..."

All of the psychic imagery disappeared and Brendan could feel the Magma Suit around him again.

Rayquaza continued to chase Deoxys around and attacked while the trainer was recovering from the attack. Retaliation was in the alien's mind, but it was still aiming to keep a distance from the sky titan.

Watching this battle atop Rayquaza's head, Brendan now saw this battle in a different light. He now understood, at least partially, what Deoxys was doing.

'Groudon and Kyogre almost destroyed the world a long time ago, and they almost did it again a little while ago.'

While he had no proof Brendan could see that it was entirely possible that they would awaken again to destroy the world. If it weren't for the legendary dragons of Hoenn, there wouldn't be a chance.

In time, those events could repeat. People could foolishly revive the ambition of using uncontrollable power to change the world.

'And more people like Zinnia would have to suffer. More people like Erica-chan and I would have to stop it. It would be a never ending cycle.'

But there wasn't even a guaranteed chance that people like that would be around again. The world could fall to ruin as long as the titans of land and sea still lived.

"Rayquaza, stop." Commanded Brendan. Reluctance caused the dragon to ignore him. "C'mon, I need to talk to this guy."

The sky titan narrowed its eyes in concentration before trusting. Their flight stopped and Deoxys took this chance to race to Hoenn again.

However, Rayquaza intercepted Deoxys to prevent this. Brendan stood atop his partner's head and attempted to reason with their opponent.

"Ok, I think you should be able to hear me like Rayquaza can. So can you give me a sign?"

In response to this vague request, Deoxy's lowered its head down and back up. That was good enough for Brendan.

"Look, I get it now. You know that Groudon and Kyogre are destined to fight again. But there has to be another way. Destroying all of Hoenn, or even just those two, isn't right. You'll just be making this worse for other people, somehow."

Rayquaza heeded to those words and was surprised at how Brendan was able to interpret what Deoxys was aiming to do. There was always faith in humanity by this dragon, but this was unexpected.

It was the right choice to fly with this boy.

As for the alien, it was calmly listening to whatever the champion would have to say.

"I know that Erica-chan is a better person to talk about for this. I mean, I like pokemon battles a lot, but we don't like hurting people or pokemon. So as long as I'm around, nobody is going to destroy our world."

Although his promise was being heard, it wasn't being accepted. It was difficult to tell but Deoxys hadn't relented from its goal.

"Trust me. I might not always be around, but I know that there will always be somebody who will be a hero. This guy sure knows it."

He patted Rayquaza's head to indicate who 'this guy' was.

"Rayquaza's been around for thousands of years, so he has been doing a lot to look out for Hoenn. I'm sure that a thousand years ago he knew that there would be many people who would try to save the day."

The delta dragon closed its eyes when it heard those words. Brendan had only met with it about five minutes ago, and yet he already understood.

"So, come on. Trust that we'll protect this world."

As one final gesture, he stuck his hand out openly for Deoxys to grab with its. Rayquaza also looked to Deoxys with a hopeful look that they could end this painful conflict.

Quietly, and without any signs of hostility, Deoxys looked at Brendan's hand. It didn't make any gesture as if it was considering the options or reflecting on the past attempt of destruction.

As for Brendan he quietly waited for the answer that could be given. The battle had worn on him for a long time and he awaited the end of this struggle.

Eyes of a hot-blooded battler hoped for peace to pass on to his home.

A flash of orange and blue crushed that hope. Brendan was punched by Deoxy's and sent off of Rayquaza.

"Wha-?"

Quickly in retaliation, the sky high pokemon slammed the alien with a dragon claw and grabbed Brendan with its tail. Rayquaza pulled the boy back onto its back and chased Deoxys.

Brendan needed a few moments to pull himself together and realize what this meant.

"Sorry Rayquaza, but it doesn't look like we can reason with this guy."

Rayquaza didn't seem to keen on continuing this battle because it hoped that everything would've been solved by words. With both pokemon having endured the duration of the battle, it was anyone's best guess as to who could win.

Deoxys shifted to its attack form and fired a zap cannon attack. Because Rayquaza was chasing rather than dodging, it took the full force of the blow head on.

"Don't give in, hit em' with dragon pulse!" Urged Brendan as he felt electricity coursing through his body too. He had found the resolve to continue fighting.

Rayquaza shook off the shock and blasted Deoxys directly. As expected, the alien then tried to regenerate its lost body parts again.

But Brendan anticipated that move.

"Now, extremespeed!"

In a blur of emerald, Rayquaza dashed forward and slammed into Deoxys's regenerating area. This inflicted a lot of pain and even caused Deoxys to telepathically wail. It then retaliated by slamming the sky titan's snout with all mega punch.

"Quick, use dragon claw!"

Brendan hated to even think it, but he was running out of ideas for this fight. Such a versatile opponent like Deoxys was hard on its own, and adding in an environment that he had never fought before in made this even more difficult.

'I was really hoping that he would just agree about earlier.'

His disadvantages were made more evident when Rayquaza attempted to slash Deoxys but was held back by a psychic attack.

The DNA pokemon took the opportunity to back away from the two and shifted back into its attack form. All four of its tentacles converged around its center as a bright purple light started to emerge from it.

Seeing this instantly worried Brendan.

'That's hyper beam.' Such a powerful attack could kill him and Rayquaza in their weakened states.

'There's only one more option left for us...but it's really risky.'

Glancing back at his opponent reminded him that it was do or die.

"Rayquaza, use Dragon's Ascent from below!"

The red eyes of the delta dragon quickly scanned the area and realized exactly what Brendan meant. It quickly propelled itself up further into the atmosphere while being adorned in by that emerald aura.

Deoxys attempted to keep track of Rayquaza as it attempted to use some of the planet's gravity like a slingshot.

In a quick panic, it launched hyper beam right into Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. Both attacks collided into each other with a blinding light that could've been seen from the surface of the planet.

Pain flared throughout the sky titan's body as it struggled against all the forces pressing down on it. Persevering through all of that, Rayquaza burst through and shattered the hyper beam.

The blank eyes of Deoxys started to light up with surprise as its opponent darted forward to finish this.

Suddenly, Rayquaza's ascent ended along with the mega form. Intense red was replaced with surprised yellow in the dragon's eyes. There was no longer a mega dragon in the skies now.

"I won't let it end like this!"

And then the most bold thing happened. Brendan leapt up from Rayquaza's head and towards Deoxys.

His left fist was coaxed in its ruby aura before he connected it with the alien's face.

"Eat this!"

He connected the attack and actually succeeded in moving Deoxys's face along with inflicting a lot of damage. Such a glorious moment was quick to fleet as Deoxys struck back with its own fist.

Brendan had no choice but to take the fist without anything to stand on. Although there was a lot of pain from that, he managed to keep a strong face.

He didn't falter one bit, even as the glass from the Magma Suit started to crack.

Rayquaza noticed that its partner was starting to fall back to earth and tried to help him. But the damage from the battle started to wear down on its weaker form. He could barely move towards either of them.

Making matters worse, Deoxys slowly and ominously approached Brendan. The blank eyes now seemed hungry to finish this battle.

"What? Are you going to kill me or something?"

Answering to that question, Deoxys started to charge up its hyper beam again.

"You won't get away with this. Even if you kill me here, I know that Erica-chan will stop you!"

As Deoxys prepared to finish off Brendan, it stared into his expression. There weren't really words that could explain what it was seeing or even the reaction that it felt, but the hero's eyes showed something great and moving. His eyes boasted passion as the planet shone from behind him. There was more than just passion in those gray eyes.

There was hope.

Deoxys withdrew the energy that it was charging and came closer to Brendan. He tensed up for a potential thrashing, but was surprised by the DNA pokemon grabbing his arm.

"What're you doing?" Asked the confused boy.

He was answered by a guiding motion towards Rayquaza and being placed back atop.

A momentary surprise was washed over as Brendan started to understand. One final movement was given by Deoxys, it formed human hands from the tentacles and extended its left.

Brendan drew up a smile before he extended his left hand out as well.

"Thank you. We won't give up."

Deoxys gave one more glance and a nod to Rayquaza before darting off out of orbit and sight.

The dragon remained vigilant as its former opponent darted off. But at the same time it wasn't concerned anymore.

"Don't worry Rayquaza. That guy understands us now." Explained Brendan.

Rayquaza turned its attention to the champion and nodded. It seemed happy as well before descending back to Hoenn.

As he began to descend down atop the legendary pokemon, Brendan's vision started to fade again. It only became truly weak when he started to make out Sky Pillar.

Atop the sacred ground of Sky Pillar, both girls still waited patiently. Their patience was rewarded when they could make out a green blur in the sky.

Erica's heart was filled with elation when she could see the green dragon coming from the blue sky. Once Rayquaza had calmly landed at the summit of the tower, it was apparent that Brendan was slumped over.

A little panic arose from the blonde champion when she noticed the crack in his helmet.

"Oh no." She quickly pulled him over and took the helmet off to reveal Brendan with his eyes closed and his mouth wide open.

"Don't worry." Reassured Zinnia. "He just needs some more sleep is all."

Seeing his chest rising up and down at a moderate pace calmed Erica again. She turned her attention to Rayquaza.

"Thank you for bringing him back to me, Rayquaza." Said the blonde girl genuinely.

The sky high pokemon nodded to her before turning its gaze to Zinnia. Initially, she appeared startled that it put attention on her. However, its eyes displayed empathy for the Lorekeeper before it.

Zinnia quickly understood what that meant and yearned to ask more. But Rayquaza flew off of the tower into the sky with a trail of emerald light.

"I think he knew." Stated Erica. "About your suffering. Maybe your savior was waiting for Brendan to free you from your sorrow."

"Perhaps." Answered the Draconid. She took another look over to Brendan's sleeping form and began to realize something about him.

"You know, I can't help but think that maybe this guy is able to help out just about anybody. It's like he becomes a place for people to fill their hope into, and he'll heal them of their pain."

Erica laughed happily hearing that. "You're right, Brendan does have that effect on people."

Feeling some form of forgiveness from the blonde girl, Zinnia bore a smile. She had come from being hated by this person to being accepted by her in one day alone.

Without another word, she got up and started to depart from the scene.

"Where are you going?"

"My adventure is almost over; I've got some amends to make." Admitted the girl shamefully. "Please give Brendan my thanks for me."

A content sigh came from Erica after hearing that. Now she was sure of Zinnia's good heart.

"I'm glad that your doing that, but there is one more thing that you need to understand."

Zinnia turned curiously over to Erica; she had absolutely no idea of what would come next.

"The adventure never ends."

One more laugh was given by the Draconid girl before she left. Aster quickly proceeded to follow after her, but not before giving one last wave to the couple.

Now all that was left were the two atop Sky Pillar's summit.

Reassurance coaxed over the blonde's mind. It felt like months since she had a chance to breath without worrying about some world ending crisis. Once again, the thoughts of originally coming to Hoenn for a vacation were foreign once she perceived them.

Brendan's state of being in deep sleep seemed rude, but he had been running around Hoenn for almost twenty four hours battling again and again.

"Can't really blame you. That was amazing how you held out that long."

Erica's vision started to weaken, and she began to fight back yawning.

"I'm really tired to. I guess it can't hurt to take a rest as well."

She laid down next to her boyfriend and immediately began to fall asleep. The couple remained atop the tower, undisturbed and content.

Unconsciously, or perhaps with some intent of dreams, their hands clasped onto one another and held tight.

 **Impact Averted.**

* * *

Yes! Finally!

There really is no excuse for how long this took for an update. I apologize to all my fans who were waiting for this (if that is many at all). There is only one more chapter left for this story, and hopefully it won't take me a literal month to write.

As usual, thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you liked it. Please leave a review, favorite or follow (well maybe not that last one, there's only one more chapter left).


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Otherwise there would be more subtle hints about trainer customization in Sun and Moon, which is going to be so awesome. I can't wait for that at all. But first, the final chapter of this story.

"Speech"

'Thought'

 _'Written Text'_

* * *

Rayquaza soared through the sky of Hoenn, content with the zephyrs that flowed past its scales. Those winds were promised signs of peace that had finally returned. As the dragon flew it left behind a lasting trail of emerald light that was like a northern aurora.

That light reached out all across the region. Its shine would vanish from sight but not the brighter meaning behind it.

...

"T-the energy signal is gone sir. The meteoroid has been destroyed."

Everyone in the Space Center glanced at the woman who said that and then back to the screen. Indeed, the dramatic threat had ceased. Emotions of glee and relief sprung from all in the room.

Amongst them, Professor Cosmo tried to find a chair to sit down in. The last twenty four hours had been too stressful on him. At least this moment was a good one for him.

"I can't believe that they actually did it." He glanced back at the screen one more time. "Thank you, Brendan and Erica."

...

Wally walked down the stairs of his house with his bag and pokeballs ready. His optimistic face was the most attractive, and probably unexpected, feature of his appearance.

"Ok. Bye, Mom and Dad. I'm off."

The excited tone of the boy was very surprising to his parents. Although it was a little while since he was assaulted, his attitude had changed a lot. They actually didn't ever expect that he could be too excited.

As Wally exited the house he was greeted with a very unusual sight. A keystone on the ground with a note next to it.

"Is this...mine?" Asked the meek boy before picking it up. Being curious, he scanned the paper.

 _'Sorry about earlier. You do kind of look kind of cool._ _Maybe we could battle some time.'_

 _'-Zinnia'_

Red bloomed on Wally's face once he completed reading the sentence. Never would he expect that she would return his keystone. But he accepted the return, regardless.

A prospect of learning how to better connect with pokemon was very appealing and difficult for him to turn down.

"I guess I'll battle you sometime. It would be nice to learn how to fly better with Altaria."

He put the keystone back in his pendant. There was now the chance to grow even stronger again.

...

May rubbed her head frustratingly as she sketched her Sceptile that rested against a tree.

"Oh, why can't I ever get your head right?" Exclaimed the girl with a hint of anger. Erasing over her efforts, she aimed to restart and hopefully improve from the last errors.

"May!" A voice from behind interrupted the peaceful atmosphere. May turned over to see her father running over while trying to keep a hold on his bag.

Professor Birch's clumsiness managed to make the scene more interesting by tripping him over a Seedot. His daughter and her pokemon felt nervous just watching this embarrassing display of falling face first into the ground.

"Are you ok, Daddy?" Asked the girl as she helped him up.

"I'm fine. But more importantly, this note was in front of our house." He pulled out an envelope and handed it to May.

The letter had her name written on the front, so it was obviously for her. An abnormal amount of weight within the note made the girl very curious.

Opening the envelope revealed the keystone that was tucked inside. Gawking in surprise, May almost missed the letter inside.

 _'I'm returning this to you now. That was a really good picture of Aster that you drew. I think that she would like you to do that again.'_

 _'-Zinnia'_

Utter surprise took the girl's face and any words that she could comprehend for this. May felt a lot of confusion as to what had happened with Zinnia, but she was also really happy to have her keystone back.

"Uh May, what does the letter say?" Asked Professor Birch.

"Oh, its nothing Daddy. Say, isn't that a Nincada over there?" Said May with a cheerful attitude.

"What?! Where?!"

The brunette girl chuckled as her father sprinted for the bug pokemon. Her thoughts returned to Zinnia, wondering if she would run into that enigma again. Sceptile, however, appeared very confused.

"It's nothing to worry about. Brendan did say that this would happen." She glanced over to her keystone.

"At the very least, she doesn't seem like a bad person anymore."

...

Matt walked down the hallway with his head hung down. Depression towards his failure dictated that he not return to the Team Aqua base. But the honor of being a true man pushed him to own up to his mistakes.

He entered Archie's office and prepared for a fierce scolding to follow his return. The leader of Team Aqua faced away from the entrance while Shelly stood beside the desk. Two keystones on the desk were clear signs of a visit from Zinnia.

"Bro...I'm sorry..." Muttered the stalwart with his simple, yet honest, vernacular.

However, Archie didn't make eye contact with Matt. He only continued to face away.

Shelly responded to this interaction in her own way. That being sighing and placing her fingers on her forehead. Not very interactive but at least it would getting things moving.

"Archie, it looks like Matt is sorry for what he did. Do you have anything to say about this?" Asked the woman.

Being silent and strong didn't last any longer after that. Archie turned to face Matt with a solemn face, he seemed ready to have a very serious talk..

"This is unforgiveable."

Words convey what people think and those words perfectly spoke Archie's mind. Matt could not even make eye to eye contact with his 'bro' anymore. The shame for his actions were just too heavy.

"It is unforgiveable...what I have done." Matt and Shelly looked over to their leader to see him visibly upset and slamming his fist into his desk.

"What do you mean Archie?" Asked Shelly in surprise.

"I am the only one to blame for damning the world and driving my crew into despair's depths."

In the light of truth, there was more despair encircling Archie than Matt. The pride and honor of being a leader fled from him at the moment. But this was the chance he needed to say that.

"Matt, Shelly, its time to make a fresh new start. I need you two and the rest of our team to make this world a better place. It's time to let our beliefs about changing the world through force go."

One could not change the world like that, when they are completely blinded by radicalness. Power could move the world only if a perceptive mind handled it.

"This might be scary and unknown, but we as Team Aqua need to meet with people we don't understand. We need to understand the world with them...That's the kind of Team Aqua I want to lead. Can I count on you for that, Matt?"

Stunned in silence, Matt couldn't form the appropriate response for this forgiveness. A sign of trust was cast as Archie extended out his hand.

Matt flinched at this gesture. In spite of contributing to another potential apocalypse, there was still a chance for redemption waiting.

"Y...Yeah! You bet I will bro!" He slapped his hand into Archie's.

"My goodness. These two just can't handle emotion." Whispered Shelly with a smirk. "Well...it could be much worse. At least they're taking the right steps this time."

...

Courtney walked down the entrance hallway of Magma's base. She was prepared for some fierce reprimanding from Maxie. Whether it would be because of her vigilante actions or her failure to succeed in them were up for debate.

Either way, this wouldn't be enjoyable in the least.

Her march to Maxie's office was interrupted by Tabitha's sudden appearance. An awkward silence was the only product of the two's interaction.

"Ugh! This isn't going as planned!" Yelled the rounded man. The unexpected outburst obviously surprised the kuudere.

"Uh...what...?" Courtney couldn't fight back the tears in her eyes. She was a lot like a little girl at the moment.

Tabitha felt irritation and exhaustion at his subordinate's actions, which was made evident by him scratching his head. There would be a better approach to this.

"Look, just say your sorry and everything will be better. I will make sure to pass it along to Maxie."

"R-right...I...I'm sorry...I won't do that...again..." Muttered the kuudere through her sobs.

Sighing, Tabitha placed his hands on her shoulders in an effort to cheer her up. Some good words of empathy would be an effective remedy.

"The boss hasn't found it to forgive himself either. He feels just as bad as you do about using extreme reactions."

Hearing this surprised Courtney even more than before.

Forgiveness, especially from the ones who were wronged, can mend any wound. It would be both the leader and his subordinate who would seek it. Pride for their beliefs had driven them to act against the world.

But the chances to make the right decision would never abandon anybody.

"...Leader Maxie...wants to be forgiven?" Tabitha nodded his head.

"That's right. He wants to lead us to a new future together with those who we don't fully see eye to eye with. Whether that is people, pokemon, or even nature itself."

There would always be those who one couldn't come to comprehend. To meld with them and see everything in a similar light would be correct path to take.

"In order to achieve that goal, he needs us."

"...Leader Maxie...needs...me too?" Courtney was very surprised.

"Yes, will you go with us?"

Though she gave an honest effort to answer, Courtney could only continue to weep. She accepted the offer with a shaky nod of her head.

Honestly, Tabitha felt nervous just being there. Never would he expect the habitually quiet girl in front of him to have so much emotion.

'Oh well. Its probably better that she does this.'

Behind a nearby corridor, Maxie had listened intently to the conversation between his subordinates. In one of his hands were the two keystones, courtesy of an old comrade. His posture remained steady, but there was no hiding that one tear that came out of his eye. However, the rest of his face remained composed.

"Welcome back, Courtney. It's good that your letting your emotions out." Whispered the leader while pushing up his glasses again.

...

Steven stood outside the Devon Corp. building with a bit of a sullen face. While it was true that he had the intent to save the planet, the geologist still had some regret about almost killing innocent people.

Adding that to the fact that he didn't even know about this other universe would throw down his mood. Scientists didn't like being stymied by the unknown.

There was also the long talk that awaited between him and his father. President Stone would need to be made alert about the parallel world. He might end up even more depressed than Steven was.

'Looks like I need to brighten up before I talk to him.'

Perhaps the arrival of Wallace would probably brighten the scene somewhat. And, hopefully, he could give Steven the cheerful mood he needed.

"I take it that you feel guilty?" Inquired the fashion model.

"Just a little, so I'll be alright. But to think that there is an entirely different universe out there is astonishing." Answered Steven with a temporary flash of amazement, but it was shot back down quickly by a pitiful smile.

"And to think that you almost killed another Steven Stone makes you feel down?"

A flash of amazement came to Steven. He hadn't even considered that the other universe had another of him there. The infinite possibilities that lied in that parallel world were daunting and possibly unsurmountable.

Perhaps it would be better to leave it that way. No fact could ignore that the world he lived in was already filled with so much wonder.

Discarding the awe of multiple universes, Steven returned his attention to his friend. It didn't fit his usual image to be sullen.

"I should thank you for your help at Sky Pillar." Complemented the geologist.

Wallace simply shrugged his shoulders with a complacent grin. "This is my home too."

Steven laughed at this friend's response. It was a typical thing of Wallace to say.

The past few weeks had brought about several incidents for the former champion that were the opposite of empowering. Barely being able to hinder one of the primal pokemon and failing to use the correct method to stop a meteoroid from impacting Hoenn were both left in the hands of his successor.

'Perhaps being the champion was never a role that I was meant to fulfill.' Thought Steven.

Now understanding the importance of his universe, Steven was attracted to the possibilities that lied within it.

"You know, Wallace, I suddenly feel compelled to learn more about this world."

"Even after learning about the existence of another universe?"

"I know, it is ironic. But there is the sense that there is so much more to mega evolution and to pokemon that is meant to be discovered."

Wallace had to laugh a little bit at that decision. Though it was humble given the prior crisis, it was still ludicrous.

"Steven, nobody can know everything in the world. There is absolutely nobody who can." Remarked the sootipolitan.

That truth left absolutely no room for an argument. However, the possibility of using knowledge to benefit the world and grow was simply too alluring. And besides, Brendan would take over the role of champion now.

"Well, I'm not going to pursue that just yet. Brendan will probably need a mentor for much more time to come. But when he can protect this region without my help, I am going to pursue more understandings with this world."

A quick laugh was an irresponsible yet appropriate response to be made.

"I guess that I can't stop you. Then I'll aid you when that time comes."

Steven bore a smile to his friend, thanking him for their understanding.

...

The crashing sounds of water in Meteor Falls would normally be annoying or distracting. At the moment, it was neither to Zinnia; she didn't have enough attention to give.

She was buried deep in the thoughts about her previous actions and her little sister. All of her pokemon, Aster included, watched her with concern. Suicidal actions weren't likely anymore, but her depressed mood couldn't be disregarded.

'Its over now. The keystones are back were they belong.' She glanced down to her own as she thought that. 'But now I'm not sure where to go.'

Deep in thought, she pulled her keystone out of the anklet and glanced at it. In a way, the gem was the cause and solution of her suffering.

"Zinnia." She turned over to see her surrogate grandmother approach. The stern look on the old woman's face foretold disappointment.

"You're upset?" Asked the Lorekeeper.

The old woman's expression relaxed a little, she was somewhat grateful at the return of the Lorekeeper and her adopted family. Seeing as how the conflict was now over and that Zinnia aided in the preservation of Hoenn, there was some praise to be had for her.

Though she still needed to hear some words of advice and comfort.

"I'm more worried that you still haven't let go of the past yet." Said the old woman.

Zinnia shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, but I don't think that I am able to."

The dragons and the Whismur all looked at each other. They were trying to think of some solution to this recurring issue.

"You don't have to worry about me giving up my life or taking all the hate upon myself. That guy taught me that Aster wouldn't want it. But I still don't want to forget about her."

"There's nothing wrong with keeping the memory. However, are sure that Aster would want you to worry about her?"

Her grandmother's words managed to get through to the stubborn girl. Emotional strain became apparent on Zinnia's face as she clenched her teeth. She too had questioned that possibility.

Would the Aster in the past want her older sister to struggle in the present?

'Wait...past...present...' An epiphany illuminated Zinnia's mind.

Turning to face her pokemon, she could see it clearly now. Their were suffering from sharing her pain. She had let her past pain hurt her present pain and cloud her future.

The Whismur that shared the name of her younger sister waddled over and held its stubby arms up. Empathy and kindness cleared through the repetitious agony and showed what Brendan was trying to say to her.

Even if she was gone, Aster would only want the utmost happiness for her family.

Zinnia's composure collapsed and she picked up Aster into a hug. There were no tears, only gratitude.

"I understand it now!"

Aster chimed with happiness which got the other dragons to join the girl and the Whismur. More joy was shining in the scene as they shared kindness and happiness with each other.

The elder felt that happiness as well. Seeing her family finally free from pain was a joyous sight indeed.

'Now your wounds are mended child...you're not alone.'

...

"So those are called Litleonoids? Pretty weird that they are named after the pokémon."

After waking up on Sky Pillar, Brendan and Erica spent the day with some greatly deserved rest. With the participation against world ending catastrophes and nearly a full day of running around Hoenn, it wasn't any surprise that the couple wanted to just relax.

There were a few loose ends to be tied up first though. Their pokemon needed healing and Brendan had to explain to his family that everything was ok. After all, he hadn't been in contact with them for a whole day.

However, out of all the places available to go to in Hoenn, they decided to simply enjoy Mossdeep City.

Ironically, after the prior day's conflict surrounding astral objects, the space center was holding a festival to celebrate star gazing.

At that time of year in Hoenn, the stars would shine just bright enough for pleasurable viewing despite any light pollution. They were called Litleonoids as an attraction for the audience.

Erica didn't really agree with that decision.

"Is that a pokemon from Kalos? What does it look like?" Questioned Brendan with some eagerness.

"Well, they are four legged fire pokemon like Natsumi. Except they are a lot smaller and way cuter." Explained Erica.

"I've known Natsumi since she was a little Vulpix, there wasn't anything cuter than her back then."

Talking about cute pokemon made Erica think of Carbink. Though it had blatantly been a few weeks since she had last seen Kalos, it felt like months.

She had enjoyed her time at Hoenn, no doubt, but there was so much about her region that was attractive. Although nostalgic, she knew that her time of vacation must be spent properly.

"Its funny, isn't it? How everything is so calm and peaceful right now." Stated Brendan.

His girlfriend confirmed with a satisfied nod. The Space Center was practically in pieces during their last visit.

Brendan turned his attention to the stars out in the sky. Temptation of possibility was in that dark and vast sky. His journey already had many epic events to foretell, even allowing him a chance to ride atop a legendary savior.

Though the last event was epic, Rayquaza's mega evolution made Brendan realize something. He glanced down to his keystone and realized how difficult it was to maintain that potent state.

'I didn't have any trouble doing it twice when Groudon woke up, but Rayquaza needed a lot of energy.' Thought the brunette.

The daunting image of difficulty made Brendan feel some shame; and, ironically, it spawned eagerness.

Like Son Goku, knowing that there was more for him to grow made him eager to explore and enhance himself.

Such feelings and thoughts were kept inside. On the outside, he appeared very deep in thought.

"Brendan-kun, is something wrong?"

"Nothing, trying to keep Rayquaza in his mega evolution was really hard. I feel pretty excited that I can get stronger."

"You really are like Brett." Complemented Erica.

Their intimate moment was interrupted by the intercom. It announced that the center was closing and visitors would need to leave.

"I guess that we should go now, huh?" Said the blonde girl with some disappointment.

"Yeah, but I know somewhere nice we could go."

Riding atop Latios and Latias at night was a unique and magnificent experience. In spite of the ringing of air against their ears, neither Brendan nor Erica felt any discomfort. In fact, this felt more comforting than the previous location.

A light ambient piano and stringed instrument song would be very complimenting for the scene.

"Down there!" Brendan pointed to route 114, just outside of Meteor Falls. The eon twins flew down and landed in the serene area.

Erica recalled the last time that she and Brendan were there, the night before they went to Mt. Chimney. One look up to the sky showed that the stars hadn't lost any of their beauty.

"The stars looked pretty back then, but now they are just so majestic." Exclaimed Erica with awe. Perhaps it had something to do with the recent events.

"Is that something about magic?" Asked Brendan with his limited vocabulary.

A sigh and a smile came from his blonde girlfriend. Brendan might be full of hope and heart, but he was still an idiot. Although a little annoying, his stupidity was another good thing that Erica loved about him.

Prying further into the mystery of vocabulary was on Brendan's mind, however he was distracted by the scenery.

The night sky was endlessly beautiful, the grass felt welcoming and comfortable, and the distant sounds of waterfalls were calming.

"I think it's a little rude to be keeping all of this to ourselves." Suggested Brendan as he pulled out his pokeballs.

His girlfriend agreed completely and they released all of their pokemon together. Some interesting interactions came about amongst the crowd.

As to be expected, Natsumi and Rin instantly began glaring at each other, however they stopped once Raishin got in between them and started to act as a mediator. Apato and Amber were eagerly spectating an arm wrestling competition between Aqua and Tetsa. Dokuro, Hantaro, and Aquarius were playing a sort of hide and seek game around the water.

"Heh, looks like everyone is having a good time." Remarked Brendan happily.

"Yeah. Where is Latios and Latias?"

Brendan turned around and pointed towards the grass behind them. The eon twins had situated themselves on the soft ground and gazed up to the stars above. They were enjoying each other's company calmly.

'Nii-san, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you at Sky Pillar.' Apologized the red dragon.

'Don't worry about it Latias. I heard from Brendan how you held out and helped them get in. That's pretty awesome on its own.' Praised Latios as he nuzzled his sister.

They returned their gaze to the stars above. It was very ironic that the two had been around for centuries, yet they learned a lot and bonded with those who were merely a fraction of their own age.

Their behavior also suggested that they would be younger as the two acted like teenagers. They also had the outlook of teenagers, sometimes.

'I wonder...what will become of Hoenn from here on out?' Questioned Latios.

Latias shrugged her shoulders, she didn't really want to know what lied ahead. Moments like these, bonded with others, were worth far more.

'Beats me. But I do know that we'll still be around to defend it. Let's just enjoy the peace now.'

Latios agreed with his sister's idea. 'You're right. This instance now is too rich to be wasted.'

Brendan and Erica put a little distance between themselves and their pokemon. They found an area with short grass and laid down to spend some quality time together. Silently, the girl entangled her fingers with her partner.

She sighed as her eyes darkened with a hint of sadness. There was no difficulty interpreting this for Brendan.

"I know. I don't want to leave you either."

"We'll have plenty of vacation time to meet and everything, so it's not just that I'll miss you. But now I'm worried that you'll get really lonely without me." Explained Erica.

By now, they had grown really attached to one another. Their separation would feel far more painful after everything they had been through.

Returning the thoughtful look, Brendan cast a look of sympathy. He freed his hand and placed it on her cheek.

"I'm glad that you care, but I think that I'll be pretty busy."

Discarding the interest for intrigue, Erica's expression changed. She knew that Brendan would have to hone his abilities as a champion, however his tone sounded far more serious than something that he'd take interest in.

The answer to what it was escaped the girl at the moment, leaving her with only the option to ask.

"What're you going to be doing?"

Brendan appeared a little reluctant and returned his gaze back to the sky. This vague action only succeeded in making Erica more curious.

"If it is something that you're ashamed of, don't worry. I promise that I'll listen."

Erica's considerate words succeeded in coaxing her boyfriend. Facing her in a literal sense wasn't achieved just yet though.

"Rayquaza chose to save Hoenn and the entire planet a lot of times. I could feel how kind and heroic he was when we fought together against that alien pokemon. Even our old enemy just wanted to help the planet and trusted that we would protect everything. People are going to repeat the mistakes in the past, so we will need to stop them again."

He sat up and continued to gaze up to the stars. Those gray eyes were filled with embarrassment but overshadowed by hope. He didn't know where Deoxys came from or why it wanted to protect Earth. Perhaps it was connected to that weapon from 3,000 years ago as well.

But it had inspired Brendan.

"I know now that just beating my opponents down isn't always going to make everything right. There's other ways to win a fight." He returned his gaze to Erica. "I want to search around Hoenn and find a way to befriend Groudon and Kyogre. I want to end their fight for good."

Erica's patient gaze was washed away by surprise. She knew that legendary pokemon could choose to have faith in humans, despite that she doubted either Kyogre or Groudon could.

And yet her pupil and boyfriend had found it in himself to see the good in even the worst.

Brendan shamefully shifted his glance away from her.

"I understand if you think that I'm being stupid, but-"

His speech was swiftly cut off by Erica leaping up and hugging him. She connected her lips to his and spawned a moment of intimacy. Brendan automatically knew that this meant that she accepted his thinking, so he kissed her back.

When they broke, he showed her a humored expression.

"Why do you do that when I'm trying to sound smart?"

"I guess you are irresistible when you try."

Being both serious and sympathetic, Erica placed her hand on Brendan's check and caressed it.

"Erica-chan?"

"I'm really proud of you Brendan-kun. When we first met, all you wanted to do was beat your dad. But now, you have such a good heart that you care about everyone."

Honesty never felt so good. Brendan even admitted to how he felt when Erica tried to leave. He didn't want to get involved with the problem of the primal pokemon, yet he did and was instrumental in the quelling of that conflict.

Zinnia separated him from Erica and taunted him repeatedly. Even then, he still found it to forgive what she had done and helped her out too.

And now here he was, trying to find good where most wouldn't even think there was.

"Thanks Erica-chan. But for now, until you have to go, I promise to stay with you."

She blushed and leaned down for another kiss. The two champions couldn't be any happier in this moment that they shared with one another.

...

About an hour later, the couple had decided to return to Littleroot town as Norman and Caroline would be waiting for them. Not many pokemon were active at night, so everything remained peaceful.

"I know that there aren't many rooms in your house. Are you sure that it's alright for me to come over?" Asked Erica.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just sleep on the couch." Insisted Brendan.

Arguing for his help was an idea that Erica wanted to follow, but she was well aware of her boyfriend's stubbornness.

As they continued, the humble town started to come into view. A few lanterns illuminated the gates and the few figures that stood around it.

Brendan didn't show much interest in this and assumed that they were older residents of the town. Erica shared in this mindset until they started to come closer into view. The voices started to clarify and become more familiar.

It was then that she realized just who they were. Surprise and eagerness fueled her soul, and she quickly grabbed Brendan's wrist.

"Are?"

"Come on, you gotta see this!"

Rushing forward, the figures started to become more and more visible. Erica couldn't suppress her glee anymore and shouted out.

"Brett! Keith!"

They heard that cry and the figures looked over to them. Two of the people dashed over and met halfway. Brendan could clearly make out their faces and realized that they were in the photo with Erica from a year ago.

"Erica! Its been so long." Greeted Keith.

"Well, look at you, getting all tall like that." Said Brett as he petted her on the head.

The blonde girl couldn't believe this surprise; she felt like a Growlithe meeting with its owner after months.

Brendan however, couldn't find the right words to pair with this situation. He was actually stunned in surprise at the fact that before him stood his idol. The moment that said idol looked at him, he instinctively straightened up.

"So you must be Erica's boyfriend. Good to meet you." The Blazing Fighter kindly stuck his hand out.

"Y-yes...it is really good to meet you t-too." Said Brendan as he tried to keep his composure while shaking Brett's hand.

The older of the two broke out in laughter. Before him stood a fanatic who could barely bring out the proper words.

"I hear from Erica that you're a fan. You definitely look like a good fighter." Complemented Brett.

Receiving praise like that gave Brendan much to be excited about. And he surely had much to ask these two.

"So you traveled with Erica around Hoenn? Has she been doing well?" Asked Keith.

There wasn't much difficulty for Brendan to discuss something with Keith. After all, this conversation was something that they were all experienced in.

"Yes, we've gotten through a lot of things together. And its because of her being my teacher that I became the champion."

That statement was met with slight surprise, neither of these boys suspected that Erica would be anywhere near the level to teach somebody that well. Brendan proved it to them by showing his medallion.

Just to make sure that he didn't get ahead of himself, they made sure to display their medallions as well.

"Wow, those look awesome." Complimented Brendan.

"Yeah they do." Said Brett. His medallion was gold and silver with a hexagonal center and two sets of wings that closed into it.

"Take good care of it, that is the proof of your hard work." Stated Keith. The medallion he had was the most basic as it was circular with streaks of red, blue, green, and yellow running across it.

While being in the presence of such great trainers, Brendan had a question brimming in this mind.

"Say, do you think that I'd be able to take either of you guys in a pokemon battle?" Asked the younger brunette eagerly.

"Nope, not a chance."

Keith's response was swift and somewhat crushing and Brett's nodding didn't add any cushion.

Normally Brendan would challenge this logic in a real battle, but if Erica was taught by these two then there was no argument. Though if anything, Brendan would take this as a chance to become better.

While Erica had many questions to ask, her attention turned towards the newcomer on the scene. A girl who seemed older than her with purple eyes, somewhat pale skin, and short brown hair.

Asking for a name would be customary, but Erica was a little too slow.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Erica. My name is Kate Kokoro." Introduced the girl.

Erica logically pieced together who she was after hearing the name and seeing Kate's white and orange crystal.

"You're Brett's friend!"

"Official girlfriend now. I'm very grateful that you took care of him while I was away. He tends to get ahead of himself sometimes."

Both girls laughed at that. They were certainly experienced in traveling with these headstrong guys.

This union of friends and introductions was greatly received, but it did spawn a question in Erica's thoughts. Weren't both of her teachers supposed to be busy?

"Not that I'm ungrateful for you guys being here, but weren't you two busy before?" Asked Erica.

"Actually, that is what we came here for. We've got some news." Explained Keith.

Both Erica and Brendan were confused by that initial answer. But this news would surely promise something good if it meant bringing these guys to Hoenn.

"Because of the problems with world ending disasters, the Pokémon Leagues of different regions have agreed to change how long we need to stay in a region." Said Brett.

Saying that there was simply surprise on the protagonists' faces would be an understatement. A feeling of remorse and longing spread as they both assumed that this meant they would need to spend even less time together.

Such blatant expression of dread was easy to pick up, and it would be easier to heal.

"Don't worry, now we only need to be in a region for about two months of a year."

"What?!" Exclaimed both champions.

Keith decided to chime in at this point and clarify.

"The Leagues decided that it would be best to have champions around on short notice to prevent these kinds of disasters from happening. Hoenn is probably late to this because of Brendan being the new Champion and Erica being out of Kalos.."

Brendan couldn't believe it, his heart jumped and celebrated for what this guaranteed. Now there would be so much more time to spend with his girlfriend.

There was so much to be elated for in this moment that words couldn't define his feelings. Only the action of hugging Erica and laughing with these people could show how great he felt.

In the end, bonds with others would tread through and overcome the toughest of trials.

...

About an entire week had passed since the incident with the meteoroid. Hoenn had since calmed down and everyone's lives had returned to normal. In fact some new pokemon started to appear.

Many noted the addition of several pokemon that must've migrated from Sinnoh, Unova, and even Kalos. This was a new and much welcomed experience for trainers and researchers.

At Littleroot Town, Norman sat down on the couch, watching over the house while Caroline was out for a bit. On the table in front of him lied a letter.

 _'Dear Dad_

 _'I know that I am going to be away for a bit with Erica-chan to Kalos, but I'm sure that Hoenn will be fine. Steven-senpai said that he wanted to stay behind and help Devon and Keith-senpai said something about some powerful pokemon he was going to look into. But I'm sure Hoenn will be fine with just you around. I can't wait to battle you again one of these days. I'm excited to see how strong you'll be getting with your pokemon. Anyway, we'll be back soon. I'll make sure to call you and Mom to let you guys know how we are.'_

 _'Brendan'_

After finishing that note, Norman sighed a little. His son was growing up. It was a little abrupt that he decided to leave and go to another region, but the father was well aware that Brendan was far from being irresponsible.

In all honesty, Norman knew that Brendan was seeking to do something that was practically altruistic.

"That boy. He's grown up well."

...

A cruise ship set off from Lilycove city, destined for a region that was far off from Hoenn. Many passengers were probably going off to see loved ones, make new establishments, or distribute new teachings. But a certain couple were seeking an answer.

Though an unfortunate goodbye would have to come first for them.

"It's really sad that you guys have to go." Remarked Brendan to Latios while he leaned on the rails of the ship.

'Yeah. To be honest, I would like to stay with you and keep battling.'

The brunette pushed himself up off of the rail to give the dragon some confidence back.

"Don't sweat it. You gotta protect Hoenn right? I'll be back soon, so don't worry."

Presenting his fist out, Brendan demonstrated the confidence he had in his bond with Latios. In response the blue dragon pushed his own hand against Brendan's. These two had come a long way together.

Latias and Erica didn't really display any signs of despair as they were saying their goodbye. Rather the two were fully aware that they would meet again.

'I can't wait to see you again Erica. I'll train with Nii-san and grow even stronger.' Promised Latias.

"I'm sure that you will, and I'm looking forward to it too."

As the boat started to get even further away from Lilycove, the eon twins decided that it was time to disembark. They flew off towards Southern Island, waving goodbye to their friends.

Brendan sighed and leaned over the rails again, looking at the crashing waves below.

"You miss them already?" Inquired Erica.

"Yeah, but we'll always be connected." To make a point he pressed his fist against his chest. "As the Fighter of Fiery Passion, I say that we will!"

Erica had to laugh a little in response. The name that Brendan had chosen as a champion was fitting and hilarious.

"But I am a little worried. How are we going to find those legendaries, or even that guy you were talking about?"

Their goal in the Kalos region was to find Xerneas, Yveltal, and AZ. It was likely that the answers they sought lied in those beings.

"I wouldn't dwell on that too much. First you've got to meet my mom, and I think that she'll like you very much."

The promise of a new adventure ahead was great. When Brendan had first come to Hoenn, he was greatly excited for what was to happen and now he would be able to repeat that experience again.

Xerneas and Yveltal were able to trust in humans to build stronger bonds and connections. Their hopeful ideology gave Brendan hope that there was a way to connect with Groudon and Kyogre. With that thought in mind, it wasn't too improbable that there was a path that both the primal pokemon could follow together.

AZ was also somebody to consult about this. Since he was so old it was very likely that he saw the conflict and knew more than even the Draconids did.

On top of all that, there was all of Kalos to explore, and Erica would be with Brendan all the way.

"I'm so excited. Kalos is going to be awesome!"

"That's good. I'm sure that you'll love it."

Brendan and Erica grasped their hands together and looked up to the big blue sky hopeful for whatever was to come next. Their future together with pokemon was infinite.

Dreams always start out small with discrimination and fear circling around them. Sometimes they are crushed or morph endlessly with no heed to reality.

But with understanding and support, they rise into reality and are able to create the future. Pokemon and humans together could look down that same shining road and go down it with the same smiles and hopes. There would always be the trials to hinder progression, but there would always be somebody to persevere and inspire.

Just like Brendan and Erica.

So much lied in the future and the new generations to come.

 _ **Fin**_

* * *

Well, it is finally done. Thanks for reading my story; I hope you liked it a lot. I am glad to finally be done with this story it took so long and was so difficult to write. As always, let me know if you liked this with some sort of gesture (like a review or favorite), and I'll see you guys next time.


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